Marcel Carné's Port of Shadows follows a military deserter as he enters the port city of Le Havre and finds himself entangled in criminal activity and forlorn love. It is a beautifully written and exquisitely filmed work of art. Jacques Prévert's dialogue rolls effortlessly off the actors' tongues, with layers of meaning and universal truth behind every perfectly-chosen word. The hangdog acting by Gabin is comparable to Bogart's best world-weary performance. The dreary, fog-filled atmosphere paralleling the characters' lives is perfectly evoked with its fluid cinematography. The camera itself is a choreographed dancer, as it floats effortlessly from one complex composition to another. Yet it is not flamboyant; Carné makes sure none of the individual elements distract from the main thematic message.There were some aspects about the movie that rubbed me the wrong way. Much of the characters' backstories were extremely vague. They seemed more like representations of emotions than concrete beings with fleshed-out characteristics. In terms of editing, the piece felt a little stilted. There were a number of shots where Carné lingered for way too long (one time even breaking continuity because of it). Still, there are very few appreciable negatives with this movie. You really can't go wrong with Carné.
IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0030643/
