A relatively little-known but fascinating movie. Made during the German occupation of France, the film is set in the Late Middle Ages and deals with two envoys of the devil, Gilles and Dominique (Alain Cuny and Arletty, wonderful both) that arrive posing as wandering minstrels at the castle of a Baron where preparations for an upcoming wedding are being made. Their intention is to create havoc by breaking the hearts of all involved. These envoys have extraordinary powers to achieve these goals, like slowing time to a stop so that they can work on their targets at ease. Eventually, the very devil shows up at the castle in disguise. One can argue that the devil in the movie stands for Hitler and the Nazis and so forth, but the film works even if you don't try to watch it as a metaphor for the contemporary events of the time. The movie is memorable and evocative, with many great scenes and a great ending.

At the end of the 15th century, two minstrels (Gilles and Dominique) come from nowhere into the castle of Baron Hugues. Gilles charms Anne, Hughes' daughter, while Dominique charms both Hugues and Ann's fiancé. Gilles and Dominique are not really in love: they are sent by the Devil to desperate people. But Ann is so pure that Gilles is caught to his own trap. How will they fight against the Devil?

One of the reasons that the film was such a huge success was due to murmuring before the film was released that the film was an allegory for the current situation. Many people saw the character of the Devil as representing Hitler and the continued beating hearts of the lovers as representing France living under German rule, but not giving up hope. Carné maintained until his death that the film was not an intentional allegory for the war and that any relationship was purely unconscious.

As far as French fantasy films go, this is not the greatest one out there. For me, that would probably be "Donkeyskin". But this does have a few things going for it. One, it is much earlier than "Donkeyskin", so has the advantage of being first. Two, it has the Devil, which rises it from fantasy or fairy tale to a more religious context, meaning that deeper symbolism can be found (whether intended or not).

But I think its best quality is the association with Hitler that the Devil has, as noted above. I am willing to believe this was not intentional. But it does seem like a great message to get out of a film made during the occupation... this is a country of Frenchmen who had to keep their French pride in check. That turns this into a patriotic film, even if it has nothing to do with 20th century France on the surface.

The beauty of this stand-out collaboration between Jacques Prevert and Marcel Carne - in the middle of their great hitting streak - is that it works even without the 'coded' references which were a necessity at a time of German Occupation in France. So even when you watch Jules Berry as just the Devil and not a symbol for Hitler and likewise view the two visitors not as symbols of the Resistance but merely two wandering minstrels it still plays and you'll go a long way to find a more poetic image/symbol than Prevert's finale in which the Devil turns the lovers to stone before our eyes yet their hearts keep on beating. Not least of the pleasures on offer is future icon Simone Signoret as an extra but the whole schmeer, complete with some tasty lyrics by Prevert, is a total delight. 8/10