Jean Renoir’s proto-noir based on about a third of Zola’s fatalistic novel (an absolute stunner about a train engineer dogged by inherited violent tendencies with an unforgettable blackout ending) was an artistic stretch into narrative suspense, sexual torment & murder, made right at the great man’s humanistic, Popular Front prime. There are patches of over-acting and a background score that’s alternately inconsistent & insistent. But this popular success largely stays on track, with great outside-the-studio location shooting for the superb train sequences and iconic perfs from Jean Gabin, Simone Simon & Carette, who cooks a mean omelette. Renoir gives himself a nice cameo and managed to hire most of his extended family on the tech side. When you've got those Renoir genes in your DNA, nepotism is nothing to complain about.
LINK: Fuller Write-up on this title here: https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2013/04/la-bete-humaine-human-beast-1938.html
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