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Children of Paradise

Play trailer Poster for Children of Paradise Released Nov 15, 1945 3h 15m Romance Play Trailer Watchlist
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98% Tomatometer 42 Reviews 95% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
In this expansive drama, the lovely and enigmatic Parisian actress Garance (Arletty) draws the attention of various men in her orbit, including the thoughtful mime Baptiste (Jean-Louis Barrault) and the ambitious actor Frédérick (Pierre Brasseur). Though Garance and Baptiste have an undeniable connection, their fortunes shift considerably, pushing them apart as well as bringing them back together, even as they pursue other relationships and lead separate lives.
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Children of Paradise

Children of Paradise

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Critics Consensus

Strong performances abound, and Carne's wit and grace are evident in this masterful (if long) French epic.

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Critics Reviews

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Kenneth Turan Los Angeles Times To luxuriate in the film's 3-hour, 10-minute length is to experience this masterpiece as it hasn't been experienced since the day it opened. Rated: 4/5 May 31, 2012 Full Review Andrew O'Hehir Salon.com If you give this movie time to work on you, the elements that seem overly artificial or impossibly distant from our own time fade into insignificance, and you're left with a complicated and wonderful romantic drama that's full of surprises. Mar 8, 2012 Full Review Joshua Rothkopf Time Out Before French cinema reinvented itself with jump cuts and cool bobs, Marcel Carné's 19th-century backstage drama was the epitome of good taste: a sumptuous spread of genteel sparring and epic heartache. Rated: 5/5 Mar 6, 2012 Full Review Vernon Young The Hudson Review Although it introduces no fresh mutation of cinema techniques, Marcel Carne’s film is expressively superb, conceived symbolically and acted with histrionic elegance and feeling -- a rich parable of the uses of love. Jan 18, 2024 Full Review Dennis Harvey 48 Hills It became the nation's first celluloid triumph after liberation, even if initially released to some territories in a substantially cut form. Oct 3, 2022 Full Review Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review Few films are as grandly romantic as Marcel Carne's 1945 picture, a rich melodrama released at the height of French cinema's Golden Age. Rated: 4/4 Feb 23, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (481) audience reviews
acsdoug D While the acting is good the movie basically three plus hours of dialogue about nothing. Not my cup of tea. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 10/09/24 Full Review Dick C It's a full of open ends French movie, Enfants Du Paradis, Children of Paradise, 1945... Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/05/24 Full Review Gabriela P Muito bom. Perfil de sucesso e melhorias. Muito bom. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/25/23 Full Review Armina L Not just a must see, but a must for repeat viewing. Every storyteller ought to study this cinematic masterpiece. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/05/23 Full Review watched it given metacritics high rating. found the trailer interesting, where they marketed it as "france's response to "gone with the wind". I did find Arletty a good actress. but admittedly fell asleep during parts 1 and 2. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 11/12/22 Full Review Audience Member A regular feature on lists of greatest foreign films, I had to watch this at some point. It's a long yarn but it never feels too overbearing. Very Dickensian in creating colourful and fairly one dimensional characters. They philosophise over love with an originality of prose that only the French romantics seem to be capable of bringing to the subject. Not so much a love triangle as a love hexagon, it's an enjoyable watch if not necessarily something I'll need to repeat watch. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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Movie Info

Synopsis In this expansive drama, the lovely and enigmatic Parisian actress Garance (Arletty) draws the attention of various men in her orbit, including the thoughtful mime Baptiste (Jean-Louis Barrault) and the ambitious actor Frédérick (Pierre Brasseur). Though Garance and Baptiste have an undeniable connection, their fortunes shift considerably, pushing them apart as well as bringing them back together, even as they pursue other relationships and lead separate lives.
Director
Marcel Carné
Producer
Raymond Borderie
Screenwriter
Jacques Prévert
Distributor
Criterion Collection
Production Co
Pathé Cinéma
Genre
Romance
Original Language
French (France)
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 15, 1945, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 11, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$31.9K
Runtime
3h 15m
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