Pepe le Moko, (1937) is from the French movement known as poetic realism. Poetic realism developed in the 1930s and continued through times of war. These films were centered on marginalized characters who are let down at the last minute by love. It is clear in these films that war was a reality for people. For example scenes in which characters are shown shooting guns in the film suggests that they are learning as they go how to use them. The fact that they spend so much time hiding, and wondering in a maze which is their life all seems to also related. Pepe Le Moko was originally a crime novel written by detective Ashelbe, or otherwise known as Henri La Barthe and was filmed on a designed studio set.
Word Study:
Poetic Realism- a cinematic style that emerged in France during the 1930s that combined working-class milieus and downbeat story lines with moody, proto-noir art direction and lighting to stylishly represent contemporary social conditions. Considered by some critics as a precursor to film noir.
Trista, You have a start here, but I'd like you to go deeper and think more about the issues in the film as well as its context (for example, how the film (and its characters) relate to the inter-war years, how the "anti-hero" is created, etc).
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