Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

Marcel Carné's Visiteurs du Soir, also known as The Devil's Envoys, was made in 1942 in France during the German occupation. Unable, in the face of Nazi censorship, to give direct voice to what needed to be said, Carné and his scriptwriter Jacques Prévert masked their message in obscure allegory while provided much needed escapism for the French people.

Historical Background: Paris native Marcel Carné (1909-1977) was a leading French director for four decades, from the mid-thirties to the mid-seventies. At the height of his career, he was identified with the school of French filmmaking known as "poetic realism." He learned his craft working with the likes of Georges Périnal, René Clair, and Jacques Feyder. He formed a close working relationship with screenwriter Jacques Prévert (1900-1977) and they rose to prominence together in the late thirties and forties. During this time period in French cinema, screenwriters were viewed as equal in stature and importance with directors. Their collaborations included such memorable films as Bizarre Bizarre (1937), Le Quai des Brumes (1938), Le Jour se lève (Daybreak) (1939), The Devil's Envoys (1942), and Children of Paradise (1945). After about 1948, Carné's studio-based film style was viewed as out-of-vogue, especially after the rise of the French New Wave. In 1942, however, Carné and Prévert had even more stringent critics with which to concern themselves – the censors among the Nazi occupiers. Though Les Visiteurs du Soir can be readily understood as allegorical of the Nazi occupation, the parallels had to be muted and oblique.

The Story: Gilles (Alain Cuny) and Dominique (Arletty) are two wandering minstrels who have sold their souls to The Devil (Jules Berry). Their task is to travel around the fifteenth century French countryside, tempting young men and women to fall in love with them, thus leading their victims into eternal damnation. The pair arrives at the castle of Baron Hugh (Fernand Ledoux), just as he is announcing the betrothal of his daughter, Anne (Marie Déa), to a knight, Baron Renaud (Marcel Herrand). The minstrels, while providing entertainment, are so alluring and seductive that both Hugh and Renaud fall in love with Dominique while Anne falls in love with Gilles. A further complication arises when Gilles finds himself falling in love with Anne, as well. It is up to Satan himself to straighten out this devilish mess.

Themes: The overt theme is the power of love to transform human relations. As a force for good, it can sometimes overcome the Devil's machinations. It is the juxtaposing of purity and innocence against evil and betrayal that provides the film its charm. The subliminal theme is the German occupation of France that was in effect in 1942. The Devil can be easily understood to be Hitler and the innocent-hearted courtiers the French people. This is, after all, a French film! The allegorical subtext, however, had to be kept circumspect and ambiguous to get past Nazi censors.

Production Values: Since contemporary issues could not be addressed openly in 1942, Prévert provided Carné instead with a medieval romantic fantasy – one of the few times in their collaboration that they worked with a script not set in near present time. The magic of the film lies in the story, dialog, and camerawork, rather than with computer graphics or the elaborate special effects in vogue today. The pace of the story is quite deliberate, adding to the dreamlike quality of the fantasy.

The cinematography for this film is splendid and magical. There are scenes were the action stops, freezing dancers in place, for example, so that the supernatural characters can step out of time momentarily. In another scene, a woman is transfigured from homely to beautiful. Later, the Devil appears simultaneously in multiple locations. The Devil materializing in the middle of a storm is a particularly dramatic moment.

The performances are superlative, from the leads right through the secondary characters and extras. Alain Cuny has a chiseled countenance, but without the stone-faced inexpressiveness that often goes with it. He projects the thralls of romantic desire convincingly. Cuny's other work includes parts in La Dolce Vita (1960), Fellini Satyricon (1969), Emmanuelle (1974), and Camille Claudel (1988). Arletty exhibits her usual languorous look, but her serenity is especially apt in this film given its fantastical quality. Arletty was the female lead in Carné's next film, the great Children of Paradise (1945). She had previously appeared in Carné's excellent film Le Jour se lève (1939), also known as Daybreak. Unfortunately, that fine film is not currently available in America. Jules Berry does a very nice rendition of Lucifer, here. He is otherwise best known for parts in The Crime of Monsieur Lange (1936) and the aforementioned Le Jour se lève (1939). Marie Déa, who plays Anne here, later worked for Cocteau in Orphée (1949). Marcel Herrard, who played Baron Renaud here, was back as Lacenaire in Children of Paradise (1945). Fernand Ledoux, who played Baron Hugues, is otherwise best remembered for his part in La Bête Humaine (1938). If you find yourself bored with the film, you might try to spot the young and later great Simone Signoret among the cast extras in Les Visiteur du Soir.

Bottom-Line: Les Visiteurs du Soir came in the middle of what are arguably Carné's three greatest films. Though it is probably the least of the three, it is nevertheless an enchanting piece of romantic and allegorical fantasy. This film is in French with English subtitles and has a running time of 120 minutes.

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older