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The Sinners

Original title: Au royaume des cieux
  • 1949
  • 1h 48m
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
135
YOUR RATING
The Sinners (1949)
DramaRomance

Story takes place in a dreadful girls' reformatory. A couple of lovers will try to escape from this living hell.Story takes place in a dreadful girls' reformatory. A couple of lovers will try to escape from this living hell.Story takes place in a dreadful girls' reformatory. A couple of lovers will try to escape from this living hell.

  • Director
    • Julien Duvivier
  • Writers
    • Julien Duvivier
    • Henri Jeanson
  • Stars
    • Serge Reggiani
    • Jean Davy
    • Monique Mélinand
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.1/10
    135
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Julien Duvivier
    • Writers
      • Julien Duvivier
      • Henri Jeanson
    • Stars
      • Serge Reggiani
      • Jean Davy
      • Monique Mélinand
    • 3User reviews
    • 2Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination

    Photos6

    Nadine Basile, Suzanne Cloutier, Monique Mélinand, and Suzy Prim in The Sinners (1949)
    The Sinners (1949)
    Serge Reggiani in The Sinners (1949)
    The Sinners (1949)
    Julien Duvivier, Suzy Prim, Serge Reggiani, Maurice Salabert, and Florence Luchaire in The Sinners (1949)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Serge Reggiani
    Serge Reggiani
    • Pierre Massot
    Jean Davy
    • Le curé Antonin
    • (as Jean Davy de la Comédie Française)
    Monique Mélinand
    • Mademoiselle Guérande
    Suzy Prim
    Suzy Prim
    • Mademoiselle Chamblas
    Christiane Lénier
    • Dédée la Balafrée
    • (as Christiane Menier)
    Suzanne Cloutier
    Suzanne Cloutier
    • Maria Lambert
    • (as Anne Saint Jean)
    Nadine Basile
    • Gaby 'Facture'
    Liliane Maigné
    Liliane Maigné
    • Margot
    Colette Deréal
    • Lucienne
    Nicole Besnard
    Nicole Besnard
    • Anna
    Mistigri
    • Rosa
    • (as Liliane Leroger)
    Renée Cosima
    • Camille
    Sylvie Serliac
    • Henriette
    Ludmilla Hols
    • Clarisse
    • (as Ludmila Hols)
    Juliette Gréco
    Juliette Gréco
    • Rachel
    Janine Villard
    • Marcelle
    • (as Jeanne Villars)
    Thérèse Flore
    • Une pensionnaire de la Maison Haute Mère
    Violette Salvat
    • Adèle
    • (as Violette Salva)
    • Director
      • Julien Duvivier
    • Writers
      • Julien Duvivier
      • Henri Jeanson
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      The film was passed in France with the censorship visa no. 8710, and a running time of 100 minutes - under the corresponding 111 minutes to the length of the director's cut.

    User reviews3

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    In the kingdom of Heaven,Duvivier reigns!
    Kingdom of Heaven,what a title for a movie which takes place in a girls' reformatory! It has become difficult to find this Duvivier forgotten gem.It took me years and years of searching before finally laying my hands on a ebay second-hand video tape .Once more,I was stunned:in a career which spans -roughly- the first half of the twentieth century,Duvivier's works almost always appeal and they innovate too:probably influenced by Pabst 's "Tagebuch einer Verlorenen" ,"Au Royaume des cieux" predates such works as " the Magdalene sisters " by half a century!And that's not all:Orson Welles, who was a Duvivier fan ,found his "Othello"'s Desdemona here:Suzanne Cloutier plays an unfortunate girl,in state care,who is unfairly sent to the sinister prison.

    Duvivier is the French master of the film noir,only equaled by Henri-Georges Clouzot.Never the Nouvelle Vague produced a single worthwhile film noir .

    Duvivier always painted the darker side of the human soul:his world is all wickedness,evil and despair.However in "au Royaume des Cieux" some sunlight does break through.The heroine has a lover (Serge Reggiani) who tries to help her escape from this living hell.A tutor (Monique Melinand) shows some compassion.And the priest does too.But what can they do when a head warden(Suzy Prim) finally sees her dreams come true when the former one -a sensitive good old lady- dies and makes way for her.Suzy Prim portrays a shrew who hates men,probably repressed sexually -a scene between her and Cloutier reaches peaks of hatred and violence- who sadistically treats her girls.And let us not forget the dog's name Goliath (sic).In Duvivier's works justice is often meted out by one of these gentle animals: see also "Voici le Temps des Assassin" and "Chair de Poule"

    Remarkable scenes: the hunger strike ,which the infamous Prim tries to break by bringing them a delicious soup (Duvivier's camera masterfully shows the hungry faces ,then the steaming pot);the prisoners turning around the anarchist's dead body (Juliette Greco!);the desolate landscapes the Police car which takes the heroine to the prison crosses;the impending flood which will become a transparent metaphor of the fever which rises behind the reformatory walls.The two estranged lovers ,whose dreams concur beyond a prison's walls.And the last picture which beats Truffaut's "les quatre cent coups" at its own game .

    Perhaps an optimistic world ,which is unusual in Duvivier's work,since all these lost girls discover,through their mate's true love that ,they can hope against hope.

    The cast and credits :the soundtrack consists of bells ringing louder and louder:MM Duvivier and Jeanson,hats off!
    helpful•20
    3
    • dbdumonteil
    • Nov 27, 2005

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 30, 1949 (France)
    • Country of origin
      • France
    • Language
      • French
    • Also known as
      • In the Kingdom of Heaven
    • Filming locations
      • Saint-Mars-de-Coutais, Loire-Atlantique, France
    • Production companies
      • Régina
      • S.I.B.I.S.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      1 hour 48 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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