The Crossing of Paris

1956 [FRENCH]

Action / Comedy / Drama / War

8
IMDb Rating 7.3/10 10 4676 4.7K

paris, france smuggling (contraband) suitcase black market nazi occupation people smuggling

Plot summary

Two unlikely companions must smuggle four suitcases filled with contraband pork across Nazi-occupied Paris.

Director

Claude Autant-Lara Photo
Claude Autant-Lara

Top cast

Jacques Marin Photo
Jacques Marin as Le patron du restaurant Saint Martin
Louis de Funès Photo
Louis de Funès as Jambier, l'épicier
Jean Gabin Photo
Jean Gabin as Grandgil
Hubert Noël Photo
Hubert Noël as Le gigolo arrêté
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
764.86 MB
968*720
French 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
24 fps
1 hr 23 min
Seeds ...
1.39 GB
1440*1072
French 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
24 fps
1 hr 23 min
Seeds 9

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by bob998 8 / 10

Hugely entertaining

Marcel Ayme's original story goes this way. Martin and Grandgil hire out to a corrupt wholesaler, Jambier, in wartime Paris. They agree to transport about 200 lbs of pork in four suitcases to a butcher who is waiting to receive this contraband (rationing is in effect, remember). Grandgil through his histrionics, increases the fee to 5,000 francs from the original 900. They encounter some fascinating and corrupt people along the way. Martin kills Grandgil at the latter's studio: he's enraged by the artist's lack of concern for the value of work and the concept of honor. Martin delivers the pork finally and is arrested for murder.Well, you wouldn't recognize the story that Aurenche and Bost created out of this sour little saga. They have given it a happy ending. I am not going to tell you what happens to Gabin and Bourvil, but it is a crowd pleaser. I have stated my reserve about late-period Gabin in the past, but here he is terrific. The rant at Jambier's store is very funny: "Jambier, 45 rue Poliveau, my price is a thousand francs!" Bourvil is a great foil for him; he's more rational and less risk-taking than Gabin, if also less imaginative.
Reviewed by Horror-yo 8 / 10

No overreaction here but just: a very good film

It's interesting how quality is just quality. It doesn't matter that you might be a millennial watching this film from France, from the 50's, it's just as good as any more contemporary or culturally relevant top drawer picture.The best feature in this is efficiency. It's short and sweet (just about 1hr20min), no scene ever stalls the movie, no line in the dialogue branches out into its own thing. It's tight, focused, and efficient. It knows exactly what it's about.It's both fantastical in its concept and terribly realistic at the same time. Both lead actors were perfect for the cast and play their roles perfectly, while Louis de Funes is also excellent in a more secondary but not any more quiet role.The film dishes out bits of life lessons here and there, forces a bit of thought and perspective, but never feels self-complacent or happy about itself. It delivers the goods, with a super simplistic plot, a bit of humor, a bit of wisdom, a bit realism, a bit of fantasy; it's a little tragic, but also quite light... and it does it damn well.
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