InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Cassandra Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

PimpinAinttEasy Pimpin's father comes home after work to find Pimpin watching a French film.Pimpins father: Pimpin, what are you watching?Pimpin: Its this random pirated film I picked up from my DVD collection. Its a French film. Its a pirated Criterion DVD.Pimpins father: Do you think I should watch it?Pimpin: No. Its damn slow. The dialogs are full of existential crap.Pimpins father: Oh. Who is acting in it?Pimpin: Jean Gabin.Pimpins father: Oh that pasty faced fat guy. Whats so great about him?Pimpin: Beats me. But he was great in Touchez Paz Au Grisbi.Pimpins father: So is it another gangster movie?Pimpin: No exactly. The movie starts off really well. With a drifter/deserting soldier making an appearance in a small town.Pimpins father: Sounds like the plot of one of those crime fiction novels that you read.Pimpin: No. It does have some cheesy gangsters. But it is not a crime film by any stretch of the imagination.Pimpins father: OK.Pimpin: It does have some good dialogs. The ending is a lot like Carlito's Way.Pimpins father: That's one of my favorite films.Pimpin: Yeah.Pimpins father: Do you have any alcohol stocked?Pimpin: Yes, some Shark Tooth vodka.Pimpins father: Then let's open the bottle.Pimpin: OK sure.Pimpins father: You would prefer to drink a bottle of vodka over this film?Pimpin: Yes, definitely.Pimpins father: It does not even have a good heroine?Pimpin: Nope. The heroine was crap. I liked the story. Something good could have been made out of it. But the film was really boring. And the supporting cast was awful. Pimpins father: I see. Lets open the vodka bottle then.Pimpin: Sure.(5.5/10)

eyevacation My favourite line in this lovely, lyrical film is when the creepy Zabel says to our handsome and virile hero "I know why you came here (i.e. to the port). You came here for the ships" thus exposing the hero's secret. And I thought: "Of course, that's why we all come here (i.e. to the cinema), for those ships that are preparing to sail to Venezuela" We never get to Venezuela and neither does our doomed hero but that's not why we're here. Our hero, at first, is wrapped in the worsted wool of an army uniform and when he meets the beautiful heroine she is enclosed in a shiny, weather repellent coat. They both loose these carapaces in favour of more roomy, more approachable outfits that allow them to display themselves and slowly, as the film progresses, become vulnerable and aware of their tragic fates.We never see the beautiful Nelly's murdered lover, the only indication of his appearance is a cuff link, found under the stairs in the wine cellar. And the kindest and wisest man in the film has a hat that he got in Panama, somewhere we'll probably never get to either. It makes me think that the people who made the film are the Panama hat, lying in the foggy shadows somewhere out there on the edge of the quay.

blanche-2 Jean Gabin and Michelle Morgan star in the stylish Marcel Carne film, "Port of Shadows," made in 1938. There is simply no one like Jean Gabin - Hollywood had no idea what to do with him - here he was, this amazing leading man who looked like a character actor. Thankfully, the French knew what they had and kept him busy for 48 years.Gabin plays Jean, a military deserter who comes into the French port of Le Havre, intending to leave aboard ship for Venezuela. He meets the beautiful Nelly and is adopted by a small dog. Nelly is a real man magnet; she has a boyfriend Maurice, a father figure who is in love with her named Zabel, and Lucien, a hood in love with her. She and Jean fall in love, even though in her heart she knows that he has to leave Le Havre.These French films out-noir American film noirs, and this is a stylish, dark film filled with sadness, with a depressing ambiance throughout. If you were miserable when you started watching it, you'll be a mess when it's over. What I've gone through for Gabin - he was in so many dark, depressing films! If you're a fan of film noir (and/or Gabin), this is for you.

cutsman-2 I'm a rather big fan of noir. Outside of westerns it is my preferred genre of film. Maybe it's the hardboiled detective stories or the damsel in distress, Port of Shadows is a film that fills my carnal need for the darkness of cinema. The film follows Jean, a deserter from the military who arrives in a sleepy town La Havre. His goal is to leave the country but first he needs to find some civilian clothes among other things. Along the way he meets Nelly, a beautiful young woman whom he seems to fall in love with rather quick. Which is his biggest downfall and sort of a typical theme running through noir films, men who love too much too fast. Nelly is completely surrounded by men in her life. She has a boyfriend, a protector, and has interest from a local gangster. Well Jean has a something to say to all of them and doesn't waste time. Jean gets rid of the boyfriend, he hilariously rids her of the local gangster through a few slapping fights. This is a noir, but don't get me wrong, try not to laugh when Jean slaps Lucien the Gangster like a little girl. They come up with a plan to leave the country together. But of course this is noir, so the likely hood of this film ending happy isn't much of a spoiler. The visual look of the film is really what makes it so memorable. It is a beautiful dreary port town, the fog hovers over the city with weight. The fog hides the sins of Jean and Nelly alike but adds to the mystery. Jean's character is one who is easy to sympathize with but is also quite unique from the norm noir character. He like I mentioned is quick to love. He buys a gift for Nelly shortly after meeting her and wants to be with her enough to leave asking her to escape with him. But he also is quite a tough man ready to defend her a moment's notice. His strange psyche and personality really elevates the movie to something extraordinary.