a little poem

Flaneur: mystery and the man in the crowd

Flaneur means walking without direction. It is also a key word that is often used in writing about 19th century art. Watching the movie Les Enfants du Paradis (1945), it was as if we were taken back to the middle of 19th century， to the ‘boulevard’ in Paris. As 21st-century spectators, we could see how the French filmmaker crossed time and space, in order to represent an allegory of post-war Paris. Furthermore, We may consider whom the majority of the spectators were and how the movie was filmed at the time, by which I mean, to demonstrate an old narrative as if it displayed a contemporary reality.

Another significant idea in the film is about the position of women during the time the film was portraying. The main actress was a ‘courtesan’ who is very independent as she interacted with men. Another example of her independence is her gaze, as an attractive woman who made strong eye contact with men and felt confidence, instead of flirting. The film also gives us an idea of what women would like to gaze at and how women presented themselves through history.