Marius (1931)

 Alexander Korda's "Marius"

In the early 1930s, poetic realism was redefining cinema in France (and globally), thanks in large part to filmmakers like Rene Clair and Jean Renoir. Poetic realism, like realism, allows for audiences to experience life and situations that more closely resembled their own. The poetic elements of this realism instilled a sense of visual and aesthetic expression that elevated the realism to more emotional places. The 1930 Rene Clair film "Under the Roofs of Paris" demonstrated this by showing French audiences a poetic representation of their own, casual lives, full of small dramatics that could only be dramatic to the individual. The 1931 film "Marius" carries along these same ideas.

Although "Marius" was directed by Alexander Korda, it is the product of screenwriter and playwriter Marcel Pagnol. Pagnol adapted his 1929 play of the same name into this feature-length film experience. It tells the story of a man named Marius, who works as a barkeep in his father Cesar's portside bar in Marseille. When it becomes revealed that he and a local girl named Fanny have been deeply in love with each other since childhood, Marius is forced to choose between Fanny and his life-long desire to leave Marseille and become a sailor. Although this story is simple and deals with simple people living their simple life, the story is heightened through Pagnol's lyrical dialogue and Korda's mise-en-scene. This simple story becomes something far more touching and emotional. 

"Marius" is an important and touching addition to the French poetic realism movement and demonstrates just how emotionally attached a viewer can be to the simple lives and simple troubles of a small-town group of characters. The elevation of normal, everyday troubles to something more emotionally poetic allows the viewer to take regard of their own domestic occurrences. "Marius" and poetic realism are a lyrical reflection of everyday reality, simple troubles, and intimate relationships.