Gates of the Night
dir. Marcel Carné · 1946
Plot
It's Paris in the winter after its liberation. A tramp, pretending to be Destiny, predicts that Jean Diego will fall in love with a beautiful girl. The same evening, Jean meets Malou. Not only does he soon discover that she's married but also that during the Nazi occupation her brother Guy gave Jean's best friend Raymond away to the Gestapo.
Why watch
A tramp in post-liberation Paris claims to be Destiny, foretelling that Jean Diego will fall for a beautiful girl. As Jean meets Malou, he discovers her complex past, entwined with betrayal and loss, revealing the shadows of their shared history. Watching this film is like wandering through a fog-laden Paris, where every encounter is steeped in longing and regret, and the weight of the past lingers in the air.
Talking points
- the nature of love and betrayal
- the impact of war on personal relationships
- the role of fate versus free will
- the portrayal of Paris as a character