Pépé le Moko (1937)

"Blame it on the Casbah.", 16 April 2007

Pepe le Moko (Jean Gabin) is something of a celebrity in the Algerian Casbah he calls home. The locals do what they can to protect Pepe and keep the police off his trail in hopes of winning his favor. But how long can Pepe remain hidden in the maze-like Casbah? The French police have a plan to use one of his best friends to lure Pepe out of the Casbah and place him under arrest. Complicating matters is a Parisian woman visiting Algiers that Pepe finds himself smitten with. She's different from what he's come to know in Algeria. She makes him dream and long for days of freedom outside the Casbah walls.

To begin with, to anyone who recommended Pepe le Moko – a big fat thanks. It's a great movie that I probably would have never even heard of had it not been for some of the good people at IMDb. As a budding fan of film noir, I was hooked from the minute the movie began. The plot kept my interest throughout. Never did it seem slow. I've only seen Jean Gabin in one other movie (Touchez pas au grisbi), but I'm quickly discovering what a talented actor he was. His Pepe is a very believable character. He plays Pepe with style, feeling, and, when called for, viciousness. Director Julien Duvivier uses the twisted roads and alleyways of the Casbah to create a one of kind setting for his film. I've actually been in a place like this during a visit to Tangiers, and the Casbah in Pepe le Moko gave me that same feeling of a place you would easily get lost in.

In many ways, Pepe le Moko is ahead of its time. First, I honestly had no idea that something so seemingly American as film noir could be traced to 1930s French cinema. Many of the American films of the next two decades can surely be traced to Pepe le Moko. Second, much of the subject matter in the film is certainly something an American movie of the 30s would never touch or discuss so openly. Themes of sex and adultery wouldn't be commonplace in American cinema for years to come. And finally, some of the film techniques used by Duvivier give the film the look of something made years later. The camera has a fluidity and style I don't associate with the 30s when so much of what was being made still relied on the old "plant and shoot" technique of the silent era.

8/10