The next eagerly awaited Cine-Club meeting at the National Library: Gabin and Michèle Morgan – the legendary couple. Jean Gabin and Michèle Morgan met for the first time in this very film. Their on-screen chemistry became one of the symbols of French cinema history. Morgan’s famous line — “T’as de beaux yeux, tu sais” (“You have beautiful eyes, you know”) — became a timeless quote cherished by film lovers for generations.

The film transported us to the port city of Le Havre — a world of fog, dampness, and unfulfilled dreams. Jean, a deserter in search of freedom, and Nelly, a young woman trapped in violence and suspicion, meet each other in an attempt to escape a fate that seems already sealed. Marcel Carné’s work is considered one of the pinnacles of French poetic realism. With its atmospheric scenes, melancholic rhythm, and story of fateful love, it even influenced the later development of American film noir. The screenplay, written by poet Jacques Prévert, lends the dialogue a lyrical quality, while the pairing of Gabin and Michèle Morgan became one of the defining symbols of French cinema.

Although the story is set in Le Havre, the entire harbor atmosphere was recreated in the studio by set designer Alexandre Trauner. His work is considered a classic example of French cinematic set design.