REVIEW: Jean Gabin in ‘La Traversée de Paris,’ now streaming
Photo: La Traversée de Paris stars, from left, Bourvil and Jean Gabin. Photo courtesy of Film Forum / Provided with permission.
Jean Gabin has such a distinctive face — one that can hold a tear at the edge of his eye, one that can curl into a big smile, one that can hypnotically draw the audience into a thrilling story. There’s probably no better showcasing of his many talents than Grand Illusion, the classic French film by Jean Renoir. Another solid entry on his résumé is the very funny La Traversée de Paris, which is now available to stream from Film Forum.
The 1956 comedy, running a quick 80 minutes, follows Gabin’s character of Grandgil as he makes his way through the streets of Paris with fellow funnyman Marcel Martin (Bourvil). The two are transporting bootleg pork meat during the capital city’s occupation by the Nazis.
The political comedy is able to combine elements of history with comedic, satirical scenes about the inanity of occupation, the destructiveness of World War II and how a little laugh can be found in the shadows of a dark Paris.
Some of the humor of La Traversée de Paris, which was directed by Claude Autant-Lara, comes from the physical comedy of two men hoisting heavy parcels of meat across the city. Other times, the humor is more situational, like when Grandgil and Marcel stop in a bar and demand to be served after curfew. Throughout these scenes the two are intense, energetic, rude, sly and somehow living life despite the horrors around them.
The residents of Paris, on the other hand, meet their exuberance with shock and quiet pleas for the two men to quiet down and respect the lights-out order. Paris is sleeping and in the dark as the two traipse about to and fro, trying to evade the notice of the officers on the street corner. Their near-escapes are thrilling, and the ridiculous schemes they need to pull off to survive are hilarious.
La Traversée de Paris, which is French for The Trip Across Paris, is a clever way of showing a different side to the WWII tale — one that presents the unfortunate realities of occupation in a comical light, almost as if the director and cast are poking fun at how absurd their lives have become.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
La Traversée de Paris (1956). Directed by Claude Autant-Lara. Written by Jean Aurenche and Pierre Bost. Starring Bourvil and Jean Gabin. In French with English subtitles. Rating: 
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