Les Enfants Du Paradis

To establish the extent that crime and criminals are celebrated in Marcel Carné’s Les Enfants du Paradis, it is first important to define what crime is. If ‘crime’ is taken as “an act or omission prohibited and punished by law” then the extent to which it is celebrated is limited to the one criminal Lacenaire. If ‘crime’ is taken as a “violation of morality” (The American Heritage Dictionary, 2000) then each character’s criminal attributions are highlighted. To say that Les Enfants du Paradis praises and supports crime would be incorrect. However the extent to which the film highlights crime in a moral sense can be argued. The film draws a parallel between Le Boulevard de Crime and society, in both of which, crime plays a small but significant part. Crime is an inherent part of society and therefore on Le Boulevard de Crime where all walks of society mix, to truly represent society as it is and was, crime must play a part. The film doesn’t celebrate how love can cause violation of morality or violation of law, it explores the extent of how love can override other feelings and emotions.

The film’s backdrop, Le Boulevard de Crime, is a lively, fascinating, theatrical world in the center of Paris which features street performances and lively theaters including Les Funambules. The story’s setting amongst the theatre world provides an existentialist view between acting and reality. The love, affection or admiration each male character holds towards Garance, eventually reveals each man’s true nature. Lacenaire’s criminal temperament could be seen as being celebrated, as his jealousy is the motive behind the murder of Edouard. However it can be argued that from the beginning of the film, Lacenaire was an evil crook who used any excuse to steal or murder. Before the murder of the Count, Lacenaire was still a criminal and the motives behind his crime were not Garance. Mark Moron (2000) describes Lacenaire’s character as being “modeled after Iago, a misanthropic villain...