Review: ‘Port of Shadows’ — A Fatalistic Film Noir Tragedy

Time has flown by, as it has its wicked tendency to, since I discussed Marcel Carne’s 1939 film Daybreak (also known as Le Jour Se Leve). Daybreak is still a film that I continue to think of often, its tragic story beautifully met by such moody cinematography and gorgeous, melancholic imagery. That 1939 film was so striking that I remember thinking shortly after viewing it that I absolutely had to see more of Carne’s work… and yet, here we are who knows how long later (my review went up almost two entire years ago, and I must’ve seen the film a little while before that!) and I still haven’t plunged myself into another of the maestro‘s films (a fact that becomes even more shameful if I tell you, dear reader, that I do in fact own a copy of Carne’s most famous film Children of Paradise, and that I’m merely avoiding it out of laziness, its three hour running time still proving intimidating despite the fact that I’m sure the film is masterful).

Thankfully, Port of Shadows (Le Quai Des Brumes) managed to find itself a spot higher on my list of priorities when I was kindly offered a review disc of its newest restoration by StudioCanal, an opportunity I’m not ashamed to say I jumped at. And…