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Children of Paradise

Play trailer Poster for Children of Paradise 1945 3h 15m Romance Play Trailer Watchlist
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98% Tomatometer 42 Reviews 95% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
In this expansive drama, the lovely and enigmatic Parisian actress Garance (Arletty) draws the attention of various men in her orbit, including the thoughtful mime Baptiste (Jean-Louis Barrault) and the ambitious actor Frédérick (Pierre Brasseur). Though Garance and Baptiste have an undeniable connection, their fortunes shift considerably, pushing them apart as well as bringing them back together, even as they pursue other relationships and lead separate lives.
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Children of Paradise

Children of Paradise

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Critics Consensus

Strong performances abound, and Carne's wit and grace are evident in this masterful (if long) French epic.

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Critics Reviews

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Kenneth Turan Los Angeles Times May 31, 2012
4/5
To luxuriate in the film's 3-hour, 10-minute length is to experience this masterpiece as it hasn't been experienced since the day it opened. Go to Full Review Andrew O'Hehir Salon.com Mar 8, 2012
If you give this movie time to work on you, the elements that seem overly artificial or impossibly distant from our own time fade into insignificance, and you're left with a complicated and wonderful romantic drama that's full of surprises. Go to Full Review Joshua Rothkopf Time Out Mar 6, 2012
5/5
Before French cinema reinvented itself with jump cuts and cool bobs, Marcel Carné's 19th-century backstage drama was the epitome of good taste: a sumptuous spread of genteel sparring and epic heartache. Go to Full Review Vernon Young The Hudson Review Jan 18, 2024
Although it introduces no fresh mutation of cinema techniques, Marcel Carne’s film is expressively superb, conceived symbolically and acted with histrionic elegance and feeling -- a rich parable of the uses of love. Go to Full Review Dennis Harvey 48 Hills Oct 3, 2022
It became the nation's first celluloid triumph after liberation, even if initially released to some territories in a substantially cut form. Go to Full Review Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review Feb 23, 2022
4/4
Few films are as grandly romantic as Marcel Carne's 1945 picture, a rich melodrama released at the height of French cinema's Golden Age. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Andrew R @thegulo13 Aug 15, 2026 It’s a masterpiece of a romantic story that ends so abruptly but you can’t help feeling sorry. Tragic as it seems love is so simple yet it is also astonishing complicated between four different men loving one woman, only to find the ending of the story is one she deserves. See more Stephen C @bob25009 Jun 8, 2025 3.25 hours is too long!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See more acsdoug D @acsdoug Oct 9, 2024 While the acting is good the movie basically three plus hours of dialogue about nothing. Not my cup of tea. See more Dick C @Joshua19930826 Jan 5, 2024 It's a full of open ends French movie, Enfants Du Paradis, Children of Paradise, 1945... See more @igawel Nov 12, 2022 watched it given metacritics high rating. found the trailer interesting, where they marketed it as "france's response to "gone with the wind". I did find Arletty a good actress. but admittedly fell asleep during parts 1 and 2. See more Leaburn O @RT35452347 Sep 11, 2022 A regular feature on lists of greatest foreign films, I had to watch this at some point. It's a long yarn but it never feels too overbearing. Very Dickensian in creating colourful and fairly one dimensional characters. They philosophise over love with an originality of prose that only the French romantics seem to be capable of bringing to the subject. Not so much a love triangle as a love hexagon, it's an enjoyable watch if not necessarily something I'll need to repeat watch. See more Read all reviews
Children of Paradise

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Cast & Crew

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Marcel Carné

Director

Arletty

Garance

Jean-Louis Barrault

Baptiste Debureau

Pierre Brasseur

Frédérick Lemaître

María Casares

Nathalie

Pierre Renoir

Jéricho
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Children of Paradise

Children of Paradise (1945) Children of Paradise (1945) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis In this expansive drama, the lovely and enigmatic Parisian actress Garance (Arletty) draws the attention of various men in her orbit, including the thoughtful mime Baptiste (Jean-Louis Barrault) and the ambitious actor Frédérick (Pierre Brasseur). Though Garance and Baptiste have an undeniable connection, their fortunes shift considerably, pushing them apart as well as bringing them back together, even as they pursue other relationships and lead separate lives.
Director
Marcel Carné
Producer
Raymond Borderie
Screenwriter
Jacques Prévert
Distributor
Criterion Collection
Production Co
Pathé Cinéma
Genre
Romance
Original Language
French (France)
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 15, 1945, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 11, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$31.9K
Runtime
3h 15m
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