Because I could not stop for Death, he kindly stopped for me; the carriage held but just ourselves and immortality” – Emily Dickinson
If Death took a holiday, the guns would go silent in Iraq, the slaughter on our nation’s highways would cease, and the news media would be compelled to cover positive events in the humanities, arts, and sciences. Unfortunately, Death has not had a vacation in recorded history, but Mitchell Leisen’s 1934 fantasy, Death Takes a Holiday, allows us to consider the possibility. Co-written by Maxwell Anderson and Gladys Lehman and based on the play "La Morte in Vacanza" by Alberto Casella, Death Takes a Holiday stars Frederic March as the Grim Reaper who takes on human form in an attempt to discover why men fear him so much. Why he has waited 5,000 years to satisfy this curiosity is not explained.
[Spoiler] After a brief tryout as a shadowy figure who scares the daylights out of those that cross his path, Death shows up at, of all places, an upscale party at an Italian villa, posing as the mysterious Prince Sirki. Only one person knows who he really is, the host Duke Lambert (Guy Standing), and he is sworn to secrecy. Sirki proceeds to fascinate the guests. Given to bursts of wit and poetry, he can just as quickly turn sullen and threatening, and some soon find out that it is better not to look too deeply into his eyes. During the three days in which the Prince is at the villa, however, people all over the world miraculously escape death and potential suicides are doomed to frustration.
To see what’s behind all the conversation about love, the suave but naïve Prince Sirki falls for the irresistible Grazia (Evelyn Venable), the daughter of one of Duke’s friends. Grazia knows who Death is but does not fear him, much to the chagrin of her fiancé, Corrado (Kent Taylor) who has developed a strong disdain for Prince Charming.
More sinister than Brad Pitt in the 1998 remake Meet Joe Black, March turns in a very convincing performance as the creepy yet strangely appealing guest. Although the ending is melodramatic, the emotions are very real and the suggestion that Death may in reality be a friend disguised as a foe is quite touching.
(Howard Schumann, talkingpix.co.uk)
In this wearisome and predictable plot line, Death falls in love and bores us to death talking about it.
(Dennis Schwartz, homepages.sover.net)
I've heard DRACULA was advertised with the tag line "The Weirdest Love Story ever told!" (this is probably a paraphrase), but at heart, I've never felt that you could honestly call that movie a love story. The tag line would be much more appropriate for this one, since it ultimately boils down to what amounts to a love story. This movie is very good indeed, particularly if you consider that it is built around a concept that could have easily been handled in a cute or facile manner. Instead, it is handled as seriously as possible, with some real thought put into how death would try to come to terms with a life and an outlook that was to that point totally unfamiliar to him; much of the credit does go to Fredric March in the title role. It's quite scary when it needs to be, particularly during the first twenty minutes. From then on, it deals with its themes with subtlety, a quiet wit, an enduring sadness, and an everpresent tension on how Death might react if crossed. It's not perfect; some of the dialogue is self-conscious and artificial, as if the writers knew they were dealing with weighty issues and were trying to be profound. But I am certainly glad they didn't try to turn it into a musical comedy of sorts.
(Dave Sindelar, scifilm.org)
See also the remake: Death Takes A Holiday (1971)
既去年有人把伯格曼当工具人之后 今年侯麦也没幸免。
虽然还是稍显中产和匠气，但朴实的镜头语言疯狂加分，有点侯麦的味道。另外，甘斯伯格的声音也太温柔了。
音乐好好听，几位主角的嗓音好可爱啊，想学法语的同学可以来“听听”，看看美丽的城市风物，找找心动的感觉～一部看上去“与世无争”的主竞赛电影，有轻盈温柔的怀旧质感，氛围舒适，十分难得。72.Berlinale
7. 如何在那么窘迫的情况下保持爱和包容，怜悯，确实是件很难的事，或许天然的淳朴可以，很强的价值观也可以。本片给人从容的淡定，可能是女主特有的魅力，当然导演的叙事也不错。
可以追溯到我以前在宿舍收聽半夜足球電臺的回憶。我當時翻來覆去睡不著就掏出mp3亂調頻，聽歐冠轉播。
这就是我最喜欢的电影类型，舒缓的节奏，不需要强烈的戏剧冲突推动情节开展，人物关系松弛温情有爱，配乐和布景审美在线，可以看上一天一夜。No. 1700!
我爬上烟囱 为了点上一根烟
《巴黎夜旅人》是一部让人印象深刻，流连忘返的电影。很奇怪，虽然我们离法国距离、文化、意识都相去甚远，可本人在那些“巴黎夜旅人”身上却感受到了无限的共鸣。这大概正是电影的魅力吧。
比起儿子和少女那条线，更喜欢伊丽莎白的情感部分
7. 如何在那么窘迫的情况下保持爱和包容，怜悯，确实是件很难的事，或许天然的淳朴可以，很强的价值观也可以。本片给人从容的淡定，可能是女主特有的魅力，当然导演的叙事也不错。
人际关系可以有多少种呢？
深蓝色的夜幕、天台上梦幻乐园般的柔光、八零年代质感的巴黎日间街景和音乐，带出光影下的生活碎片，还有人物情节情绪流动。是人生的过客还是常客并不重要，只要在那一刻拥有“有你们在场的快乐”，非常抚慰人心。夏洛特甘斯布的角色和她的声音，柔软敏感细腻包容，太迷人。
追忆巴黎的80年代。一直感叹景太美太美。#0715帅钰家
氛围和年代质感都打磨的非常好，松散的情节对应慵懒的电影气质，高贵又戳人。
还会遇见如清水一般的时间吗，它们已凝在记忆的某刻，幻觉中好像还有未来。
温情的法国家庭片，挺好的吧，感觉中规中矩，可能没有打动我的点吧。音乐很喜欢，喜欢这种80年代的音乐。
3.4，温柔浪漫的一部作品
Les passagers de la nuit
天色将晚时的蓝色多次出现，成为这部电影的风格基调，这个蓝色太准确了，静谧的、易碎的、哀伤的、乐观的、隽永的、优雅的、本质的。音乐很棒，若没有Anto Sanko这些插曲绵密的配合，仅凭复古的画面绝对无法让人走进上世纪八十年代的巴黎。在质感到位的前提下，情节和文本虽普通但也无关紧要了，被拆解成诗歌、电影、生命、善意、亲情、爱情等元素作为视听的点缀也无伤大雅，至少不矫情也不虚浮。51岁的夏洛特甘斯布的少女感自然大方，从内而外美得满足了一切对“法国女人”的想象。
反抗，不就是一死吗
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