I watched this Pepe le Moko by Julien last night. The film was fascinating on two accounts: firstly, the setting in the maze like seaside hilly town Casbah where first time visitors were bound to get lost in its many seemingly dead end lanes and multi-layered courtyards; secondary, the title role played by the charming Jean Gabin in his prime.
As marvelled by the police who could not figure out a way to catch Pepe the gangster as long as he stayed in Casbah, this laid back town was a culturally diverse one that looked like an miniature United Nation. Not only its residents were from different ethnic and racial groups, but the style of architecture also reflected it rich cultural heritage of its residents. Always sunny, the cinematography had taken advantage of both the natural light and its interesting architecture styles and turned it one of the most intriguing place ever caught in cinema.
As to Jean Gabin, a veteran film star in French cinema since the 1930s, he was effortlessly the epitome of charisma. I must have seen more than a dozen of films he starred in now, and I am yet to cease to be charmed by the characters he played and the ease he carried in all roles. My favourite moment of his had to be the brief scene in Jean Renoir's French Cancan where we found him sitting backstage tabbing his hands and feet in the rhythm of the music performing on stage. He knew the routine so well by then (though it was the opening performance) that he did not have to watch the stage performance to know what was exactly happening outside. He had a contented look on his face and seemed a man on his most satisfactory moment in life.
Pepe le Moko was said to be the early form of film noir, and indeed, it was, though in a much lighter way.
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