Hôtel du Nord

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.

I suppose I always felt that Hotel Du Nord was studio-bound, the movement of people cars and camera were just too effortlessly smooth and stagey to have been filmed on location. But no problem - it's still a much underrated lovely composition from Marcel Carne. The plot seems a bit choppy at times, as if they were making it up as they went along, but because it is unpredictable holds the attention to the bitter end. The comings and goings and goings-on at hotels are always full of rich possibilities anyway. The money shots when the two lovers are alone in their room are saddled with some rather stilted dialogue, but it's all so lovely to fall into any inanity can be accepted. Are these two young people symbols of a cancerous hopelessness in pre-War France or simply idiots? Suicide pacts are fairly common; if the suicidees are young and healthy with their lives before them untrammelled would you think anything other than that they were just misguided fools?

Arletty played the part of prostitute well - she kept that zipper on her dress busy throughout anyway! I've only seen a few films with Jouvet - he is the most impressive invention as pimp in HDN - my trouble is shallow: every time I see his face I think of Sonnie Hale in Evergreen!

A remarkably atmospheric, well acted and photographed film with so much happening it needs a few viewings to get it all in place. Annabella and Aumont made an exceptionally beautiful couple; Francois (Heurtebise) Perier in his 2nd film had a small amusing part as a gay man. All in all, a wonderful film. Next: Le Jour Se Leve.

"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.

Hotel Du Nord is a gripping drama of guilt in which Marcel Carne portrayed an entertaining tale of ill-fated love which also functions as a revolt against the cruel world.The film is based entirely on a pair of hapless lovers.Pierre and Renee were mistaken when they believed that suicide would put an end to their misery.Hotel Du Nord has its own inimitable charm as its inhabitants have become an essential part of the establishment.There is an element of togetherness as everyone flocks to Hotel Du Nord to eat,chat etc.Marcel Carne has remained true to the spirit of the films produced in 30s and 40s as Hotel Du Nord has a certain kind of nostalgic feel.Carne,while recreating the life of Parisian roads was able to create a sort of nostalgia for black and white giving a unique genre of poetic realism to his oeuvre.Hotel Du Nord can be termed as a quintessence of cinematographic populism.The 14th July ball scene on the banks of Saint Martin canal remains a magnificent sequence.The film's immense popularity can be judged from the fact that Hotel Du Nord has been declared as a national monument.

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.