"Love is so simple" -- or is it?A theater curtain rises on jostling crowds on the Boulevard du Crime in 1828 Paris (brought to life by legendary production designer Alexandre Trauner), among them Jean-Louis Barrault's white-faced mime Baptiste Debureau, Pierre Brasseur's aspiring actor Frédérick Lemaître, and Marcel Herrand's intellectual criminal Lacenaire -- all based on real people -- who have eyes only for ambiguously serene woman of mystery Garance -- as portrayed by Arletty in "a performance for the ages" (Richard Roud).
Finishing up Part 2. Kept getting distracted with other things, but glad I stuck it out. Great film for so many reasons, not the least of being the conditions under which it was made.