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Children of Paradise (1945)
"Les enfants du paradis" (original title)

 -  Drama | Romance  -  15 November 1946 (USA)
8.1
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Ratings: 8.1/10 from 10,698 users  
Reviews: 84 user | 96 critic

This tragic tale centers around the ill-fated love between Baptiste, a theater mime, and Claire Reine, an actress and otherwise woman-about-town who calls herself Garance. Garance, in turn,... See full summary »

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Title: Children of Paradise (1945)

Children of Paradise (1945) on IMDb 8.1/10

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Nominated for 1 Oscar. See more awards »

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
Caire Reine, dite Garance
...
Jean-Baptiste Debureau
Pierre Brasseur ...
Pierre Renoir ...
Jéricho
María Casares ...
Nathalie (as María Casarès)
Gaston Modot ...
Fil de Soie
Fabien Loris ...
Avril
Marcel Pérès ...
Le directeur des Funambules
Palau ...
Le régisseur des Funambules (as Pierre Palau)
Etienne Decroux ...
Anselme Debureau (as Étienne Decroux)
Jane Marken ...
Mme Hermine (as Jeanne Marken)
Marcelle Monthil ...
Marie
Louis Florencie ...
Le gendarme des 'Adrets'
Habib Benglia ...
L'employé des bains turcs
Rognoni ...
Le directeur du Grand Théâtre
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Storyline

This tragic tale centers around the ill-fated love between Baptiste, a theater mime, and Claire Reine, an actress and otherwise woman-about-town who calls herself Garance. Garance, in turn, is loved by three other men: Frederick, a pretentious actor; Lacenaire, a conniving thief; and Count Eduard of Monteray. The story is further complicated by Nathalie, an actress who is in love with Baptiste. Garance and Baptiste meet when Garance is falsely accused of stealing a man's watch. Garance is forced to enter the protection of Count Eduard when she is innocently implicated in a crime committed by Lacenaire. In the intervening years of separation, both Garance and Baptiste become involved in loveless relationships with the Count and Nathalie, respectively. Baptiste is the father of a son. Returning to Paris, Garance finds that Baptiste has become a famous mime actor. Nathalie sends her child to foil their meeting, but Baptiste and Garance manage one night together. Lacenaire murders Edouard... Written by kevin kraynak <kevin@kraynakk.com>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

count | love | mime | actor | actress | See more »

Genres:

Drama | Romance

Certificate:

Approved | See all certifications »
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Details

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Release Date:

15 November 1946 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Children of Paradise  »

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 »

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Technical Specs

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| (edited)

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Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

The name of the theatre, Funambules, translates to Tightrope in English. See more »

Goofs

The positions of Avril and Lacenaire in the Turkish baths changes between the shot of their entry and the closer shot. See more »

Quotes

Pierre-François Lacenaire: The mere thought of them killing each other, over a woman, because of me, comforts me.
See more »

Connections

Referenced in Moulin Rouge! (2001) See more »

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User Reviews

 
The film is Life itself.
6 November 2005 | by (United States) – See all my reviews

One day in 1966 I was walking along 8th Street in the Village. The Village was where I went when I had no where else to go, when I belonged no where, where I thought I could discover myself. It didn't hurt that there were people to stare at, without being too obvious about it.

It was a gray day and it started to rain. I stopped under the first protection I found, a movie marque - neither handsome nor attractive.

The photos promoting the film were behind glass at odd angles, held by tacks. I just wasn't in the mood. It wasn't what I was looking for. But the rain got worse, and I needed warmth. So I bought my ticket to join the twenty or so people who comprised the full audience.

From its first moment, the film pulled me in. After a frenetic start, it quieted to Jean-Louis Barrault sitting alone on a barrel. I'd seen Marceau before, but not until now had I seen the quiet poetry of true mime.

Barrault's character, Baptiste, had silently observed the theft of a watch. Baptiste pantomimed the theft but staged his pantomime as if people's perceptions were a mistake, as if the theft never took place. In the doing, he made everyone laugh. He did this for the love of Garance, played by Arletty, whom he had seen for the first time.

There follows in the film first love - unrequited, poetic, soulful. We see villainy, melodrama, danger, heroism, satire, plays within plays - a host of stories all integral to the whole of the play. And we believe completely.

It is the most complete film ever made. It changed my life.


62 of 67 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
Why don't women like it? brucedgo
WWII allegory faded away chuck-526
It's got a poor average ratings because of the 'ones' brucedgo
Can´t stand this plot sllgrecco
It didn't even make IMDb's top 250! lildark
Did Garance really love Baptiste? VarysGash
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