Hôtel du Nord

In a hotel in Paris two lovers agree to take their own lives, the woman is romanticizing the suicide in a degree she must represent the escapism of many not so well-off in prewar Paris. The hotel is in itself a meeting place for the people of the district. Pierre shoots Renee, but is disturbed by Edmond so he flees the scene.

The story in itself is not so extraordinary today, but nothing takes away from its impact still. It has no problem of holding your attention to the very end. Its my first meet with any involved in 'Hotel du Nord'. Louis Jouvet is very good in his joy and meaningless role that finds meaning for just a little while. So is Arletty.

"Hotel du Nord " is the only Carné movie from the 1936-1946 era which has dialogs not written by Jacques Prévert,but by Henri Jeanson.Janson was much more interested in the Jouvet/Arletty couple than in the pair of lovers,Annabella/Aumont.The latter is rather bland ,and their story recalls oddly the Edith Piaf's song "les amants d'un jour",except that the chanteuse's tale is a tragic one.What's fascinating today is this popular little world ,the canal Saint-Martin settings.

This movie is dear to the French movies buffs for another very special reason.The pimp Jouvet tells his protégée Raymonde he wants a change of air(atmosphère) Because she does not understand the meaning of the world atmosphère,the whore Raymonde (wonderful Arletty)thinks it's an insult and she delivers this line,that is ,undeniably,the most famous of the whole French cinéma:

In French :"Atmosphère?Atmosphère?Est-ce que j'ai une gueule d'atmosphère?" Translation attempt:"Atmosphere?atmosphere?Have I got an atmosphere face? This is our French "Nobody's perfect".

A true classic. Beautifully filmed and acted. Reveals an area of Paris which is alive and filled with comedy and tragedy. Although the area of 'Hotel du Nord' and the Hotel itself still exists, it is not as gay (in the original sense of the word) and joyful as it once must have been. The film makes one yearn for the past, which has been lost, with a sigh and bittersweetness.

A fairly intriguing mood piece from Marcel Carne loosely based upon a book involving various tales of persons staying at the Hotel du Nord at the side of the Canal Saint-Martin. I have stayed close to this very spot myself and what was considered very much a working class spot is now much regenerated but still most recognisable. Recognisable, that is from the sets built by Carne for there is no location shooting in this 1938 film, the set apparently being so famous (and costly) at the time that the public were encouraged to visit and even dine under artificial lighting in the evenings. The film itself does not begin well and although of the two young but desperate lovers, the lovely Annabella is fine her young man played by Jean-Pierre Aumont is very bland and spouting seemingly silliness by comparison. Incredibly it turns out that the writer had objected to the choice of the actor and when thwarted deliberately gave him flat dialogue in spite. Whatever the reason this begins a little oddly, becomes very strange and settles into being a fairly diverting amusement, if that is not damning this with too faint an amount of praise. At best I would consider this an interesting insight into a strange moment in time for the French with their imminent capitulation to the Germans. Officially considered part of a limited movement known as 'poetic realism', I find the term a rather appropriate oxymoron, despite the film coming to life a little as Annabella's character interacts effectively, if not altogether believably, with those around her. I would just mention the older and more prominent couple also staying at the hotel, a prostitute and here pimp. The latter is played somewhat stiffly by Louis Jovvet, more used to working on the stage, but the jolly lady of the night is played in a much more spirited fashion by Arletty and is probably the most lively element of the film.

"Hôtel du Nord" is a romantic-comic drama cloaked in poetic realism, beneath which lies a delicately woven tale of love, disappointment, and solidarity, wrapped in a veil of melancholy.

The story leads us to a modest hotel along the Canal Saint-Martin, where residents have gathered to celebrate a child's first communion. Among them is Raymonde, a prostitute, whose pimp Edmond stays in their room to develop photographs he had taken earlier. At that moment, a young couple, Renée and Pierre, arrive and rent a room for the night. They don't join the others - instead, they are planning a double suicide, unable to afford marriage or a home of their own. Soon after, Renée picks up a pistol... and a shot is heard.

Director Marcel Carné blends melodrama, humor, romance, and crime within the intimate setting of the hotel. The plot unfolds in a microcosm of marginalized lives: artisans, courtesans, petty criminals, and eternal idealists. Carefully composed shots and fluid camera movements create a sense that the viewer, too, is a guest at the hotel.

For the film, both the canal and hotel were recreated in a studio, adding to the dreamlike atmosphere. Rain, fog, and shimmering reflections in the water serve as enchanting visual motifs. The dialogue is tinged with irony and filled with layered, double-edged lines that echo the poetry of street life.

Thematically, the film aligns with the poetic realism of its time - the protagonists grapple with love, trust, solidarity, and loneliness. Carné often aims hopeful, sunlit arrows at his characters, but they dissolve into the grayness of reality before reaching their targets.

Annabella plays Renée - a gentle, emotional, yet dignified young woman, caught in the web of circumstances and rash decisions. She continues to fight and to hope. Her character balances delicately between shame, gratitude, and longing for love and a home. She is not passive, but the warmth she brings remains subtle, even elusive.

Jean-Pierre Aumont's Pierre is a youthful idealist, lost from the very beginning. His character sways between despair and youthful fervor that borders on madness. Pierre embodies the idea of immature or impossible love - and perhaps that's why his shadow lingers even after he disappears from the story.

Louis Jouvet's Edmond stands as the film's most dominant presence. A man with a turbulent past, he's seen too much and now longs for peace, weighed down by melancholic fatigue. A seasoned realist, Edmond still makes room for tenderness and love - until the narrative leads him back to the antihero's path so typical of poetic realism.

Arletty shines as Raymonde - the quintessential Parisian courtesan: bold, witty, brutally honest, yet warm and smiling. Beneath her sarcastic humor lies a profound emotional core. She's a woman of the margins, determined not to be overlooked or forgotten.

The supporting cast provides strong backing to the leads and enriches the hotel's small world.

In the end, Hôtel du Nord is a bittersweet story of everyday life - a portrait of ordinary people balancing on the edge of class and survival, without grand dreams but with immense hearts. Devoid of dramatic twists or lofty philosophies, it quietly reflects the fight for dignity in a world that seldom offers much. It's a stop worth visiting for anyone traveling the railways of world cinema - especially those who like to linger on the platform of poetic realism.