The Persistence of Poetic Realism in French Cinema of the Occupation

Whereas the aesthetics and politics of poetic realism in French prewar cinema have been analyzed in depth, the extent to which poetic realism persisted in French cinema of the Occupation and the textual space that it created for spectators within this cultural context remain comparatively neglected. Responding to this critical oversight, this article analyzes Christian-Jaque’s Voyage sans espoir (1943) and Jean Grémillon’s Lumière d’été from three perspectives: Fi rst, it evinces iconography in each that was central to the 1930s poetic realist fi lms directed by fi gures such as Marcel Carné, Jean Renoir, and Jacques Feyder; second, it illustrates how poetic realism’s ch aracteristic focus on gender was reconfi gured during the Occupation; third, it determines how these aesthetic and social aspects spoke to French society under occupation. This article ultimately argues that poetic realist praxis persisted during the war years and constituted a major vector of resistance against German rule and the Vichy government.