Les visiteurs du soir

In the mid-15th century, two riders approach a castle.  They are Gilles (Alain Cuny) and Dominique (Arletty).  They are servants of the Devil (Jules Berry) and their mission is to bust up the impending nuptials of Anne (Marie Déa) and Renaud (Marcel Herrand).  Dominique has no problem engaging in this task, gleefully seducing both Renaud and the bride-to-be’s father (Fernand Ledoux), pitting them against each other.  Gilles, on the other hand, truly falls in love with Anne, and the Devil himself steps in to try to achieve his diabolical goal.

I don’t have much to say about this.  It really didn’t do a lot for me.  Carné uses some fantasy effects reminiscent of Cocteau, and his period work is believable, and possibly an influence on Bergman’s period films (and the plot may have been an inspiration for The Devil’s Eye, though that’s one of Bergman’s weakest efforts).  It’s a nice little parable about the power of love.  But it didn’t charm me in any way.  Arletty and Berry stand out from an otherwise drab cast who do little to make their roles interesting or memorable.  I just didn’t care much about what was going on, and found much of the dialogue too lofty.

The film was made during the Occupation, and could be seen as an allegory for Hitler and his invading forces.  I don’t know if this was Carné’s intent, but it doesn’t add much to the proceedings and doesn’t seem like a very strong or nuanced analogy.  But perhaps I say that with the benefit of hindsight.

This feels like a “good” movie in that nothing about it is inept or terribly flawed.  It simply didn’t strike any chords in me.  Rating: Fair (66)

IMDb