Port of Shadows. 1938. France. Directed by Marcel Carné
These notes accompany the screenings of Marcel Carné’s Port of Shadows on March 16, 17, and 18 in Theater 3.
Last week, in writing about Walt Disney and Snow White, I suggested a seeming disconnect between Disney’s entrepreneurial values and the sunlit, romantic fairyland of his films. This pointed up a possible imperfection in the auteur theory that suggests great filmmakers find a way to make a collaborative effort into a means of personal expression. A good cop-out here would be to say this resulted from Disney’s role as studio head and producer, but that is too easy. I hope to explore this further when we show Pinocchio in a few weeks. Meanwhile, Quai des brumes (Port of Shadows) raises other interesting questions. Read more
