Eclipse Series 34: Jean Grémillon During the Occupation

Though little known outside of France, Jean Grémillon was a consummate filmmaker from his country’s golden age. A classical violinist who turned to directing, he went on to make almost fifty films—from documentaries to avant-garde works to melodramas with major stars—in a thirty-year career. Three of his richest came during a dire period in French history: Remorques, starring Jean Gabin, was begun in 1939 but finished and released after Germany invaded France, and Lumière d’été and Le ciel est à vous were produced during the occupation. These character-driven dramas, the first two cowritten by legendary screenwriter Jacques Prévert, are humane, entertaining, and technically brilliant, and prove Grémillon to be one of cinema’s true hidden masters.

3 films