Remorques

No denying the magnificent, moody visuals are done with mastery. Gabin and Morgan are commanding in their roles as always. Supporting cast similarly excellent. Makes it clear from the beginning that it's a moody film, unlikely to end in the bright light of castles. And carries through that tone with grace. Human emotions often cause melodrama and tragedy. Sometimes, all we can do is carry on with what we know best. We had a nice detour; we make our decisions in life, though, and sometimes that's that. It was fun to live in fantasy for a while, but real life snapped us back and it's back to the grind. Poetic realism defined.

Title: An always vexing choice, "Stormy Waters" is the altered title chosen, rather than the original French "Remorques", which refers to the boat tuggers or trailers used for sea rescues, such as protagonist Captain André's "Cyclone".

A simple story. at first sigh, too simple. because it could seems be well known. but not the love story is the axis. but the atmosphere. the performances. the ocean. the mixture of duty, romance and clash against reality. the strange beauty of the meet between Morgan and Gabin after "Quai des brues"). and, sure, the moving end. a film who remains bitter -seductive against the decades. for its remarkable simplicity. for admirable performances. and for reasons escaping to precise definition.

Andre Laurent, the captain of a tugboat, married Yvonne ten years ago. She has a heart disease but does not want to tell him. She dreams he quits his job so they can live quietly. One night, during a sea rescue, he meets Catherine. She wants to leave her husband, the captain of the rescued ship.

Jean Grémillon (1901-1959) seems to be a director who knows what he wants. He started this film as the war began (or just prior), and despite France being taken over by Germany, and having to reshoot some footage, he kept at it. And what we get is actually a really good movie. Sometimes I think Criterion releases their eclipse sets just to make a point of saying France, Japan, etc still had movies during World War II, and is not necessarily concerned about how influential or important they may be.

This one looks beautiful and surely had an impact. It reminds me of the sort of cinematography we got from the val Lewton-produced films.

Jean Gabin stars as the captain of a tugboat. On a job, he rescues Michele Morgan. Later, they begin a romance, though Gabin is married to the lovable but perpetually worried Madeleine Renaud. This is a pretty good film, though it has some major flaws. The scenes in the stormy seas (which is what the title literally means) look particularly great for the time. The major flaw, as I see it, is that the relationship between Morgan and Gabin just happens too quickly, and is thus not that believable. In the scenes between Gabin and Renaud, their relationship seems so wonderful and loving that it's hard to believe he'd dump her so quickly - like later the same day, pretty much. The film's finale is quite powerful. The performances throughout are excellent, especially Gabin's. Jacques Prevert co-wrote the script.

The making of "Remorques" began in 1939,as a follow-up to the excellent "l'étrange Monsieur Victor",and because of the Occupation,was released two years later.That also explains the length of the movie (hardly 80 minutes in the broadcast versions).

It's a simple story:the plot involves a tough sailor,Gabin,torn between two women ,the frail Madeleine Renaud,Gremillon's favorite actress (she was featured in all of his four movies of the 1938-1943 period),and the disillusioned Michèle Morgan (with whom he had teamed up in Carné's famous "quai des brumes").

The banal plot matters much less than the atmosphere;the star of the movie is the Ocean:you can hear,feel or see it ceaselessly along the viewing.This ocean which nobody can tame,which breaks willpower.For man must work and woman must weep..

SPOILERS: The ending climaxes the movie.A distraught incredulous Gabin gazes at his dead wife whilst a lugubrious siren desperately wails there down by the ocean.Then the man,forgetting his plight,walks across the harbor to come to the rescue of the boat in distress:you can hear voices chanting prayers for the dead as he makes his way through darkness .This ending has the strength of an epic Victor Hugo poem.