Dream Factory: Les Visiteurs du Soir

Les Visiteurs du Soir
a.k.a. The Devil's Envoys
Directed by Marcel Carne
Original release: DisCina 1942 (France)
US theatrical release: Superfilm Distribution Corporation 1947
US DVD release: Criterion Collection 2012
Streaming: Hulu
Not rated
B+

Gilles and Dominique, a pair of minstrels, arrive at the estate of Baron Hugues during the celebration of his daughter Anne's engagement to Renard and perform for the entourage.  Having sold themselves to the devil, they are here to ensnare the betrothed.  Through magic and trickery (including a spell that freezes time), the envoys attempt to seduce Renard and Anne.  While Dominique successfully toys with both Renard and Baron Hugues, unlucky Gilles falls in love with Anne, who returns his feelings.  As the devil's plans unravel, he arrives himself to set things "right."

Les Visiteurs du Soir isn't particularly famous, overshadowed by Mr. Carne's later film Children of Paradise, but that doesn't mean it's a forgettable film.  It's remembered as an allegory of the French resistance during the German occupation of WWII, although this was not the director's intent.

Mr. Carne operated under the banner of poetic realism, which favored stylized sets over realistic location shooting, and often featured ill-fated characters who lived on the margins of society.  Gilles easily fits the mold here, being a poor lover who mistakenly entered into a Faustian bargain.  His former lover, Dominique, no longer cares for him, enjoying the conquests ordered of her, and he feels trapped by the confines of his extended life and the restrictions of his contract.  Upon realizing that he is in love with Anne, he attempts to spurn her, rather than sacrifice her to the devil, but their love proves to be too strong.  In the end, he has her love, but not his life.  It's quite fatalistically romantic!

The special effects used are fairly basic, but they've aged decently.  Or, at least, they aren't reminiscent of cheesy Dark Shadows effects.  The costumes and sets also appear to have been made on a fairly large budget.

Not being a French speaker, I can't really comment much on the acting, although I did enjoy the performances of Alain Cuny (Gilles) and Jules Berry (the Devil).

This film actually reminded me of a distilled The Seventh Seal, likely because of the fatalism, time period, and supernatural goings-on.  While it would be unfair to compare this to Mr. Bergman's masterpiece, it's fairly enjoyable, if slow at times, and I feel that fans of cinematic fantasy will enjoy it.

Here's the original French trailer:

The Dream Factory: Frankenweenie

Frankenweenie directed by Tim Burton
Walt Disney Pictures 2012
Rated PG
Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Nominee 2013
BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film Nominee 2013
Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film Nominee 2013
Annie Award for Best Animated Feature Nominee 2013
A-

I can clearly remember being seven and first seeing advertisements for The Nightmare Before Christmas in my Disney Adventures magazine.  Mr. Burton's ghoulish ink illustrations, used as promotional art, captured my imagination and I began to entreat my parents to take me to the film, though no one else in the family was particularly interested in going to see it.  The film, my first experience with stop motion animation, ignited a lifelong love for the art form, as well as for the story's writer, Mr. Burton.

Since 1993, Mr. Burton has both inspired me and disappointed me, but as I sat in the cinema waiting for his latest creation to begin, I had high hopes that Frankenweenie would belong to the former group and I was not disappointed.

The film follows the same storyline as that of the 1984 short (which I have fond childhood memories of watching every Halloween on the Disney Channel).  When Victor Frankenstein's dog is hit by a car, he attempts to resurrect him with electricity on a stormy night and succeeds.  The film, needing to flesh out the plot, introduces a science fair at Victor's school, and discovering Victor's project, the other students (all of them parodies of some horror figure or other), resurrect their own pets.  But, their motivations being quite different than Victor's, the pets rampage through the town and Victor must devise a way to stop them.

I wasn't expecting this film to be a comedy, but I found myself laughing aloud quite frequently at the numerous horror references sprinkled throughout the film.  Most of these jokes went over the heads of the children in attendance, and I think my husband and I were the only ones laughing most of the time due to the demographics of our particular screening.  But the relationship between Victor and Sparky, his dog, are something all people with pets can relate to, so the references shouldn't prevent non-horror fans from enjoying the film.

Aside from what felt, to me, like a mixed message about science and the failure to teach younger viewers a valuable lesson about letting go, the film hit all the right notes.  This is Mr. Burton as himself, filled with whimsical nostalgia and none of the soulless commercialism of his last few films.