Maya, A Desejável

"Maya" takes us back to the pre -1945 days:the far-east man who goes on repeating that all is illusion and other fortune- cookie philosophies is an equivalent of Carné's blind man epitomizing fate ;the scenes in the tortuous streets and even the ending-not to mention Frehel's presence as "Notre Mère "- strongly recall Duvivier's "Pépé Le Moko";the sailor who meets again a girl he used to know in another time comes from Feyder's "Le Grand Jeu".

Raymond Bernard made his best works in the thirties,but his forties efforts were not devoid of interest.Even "Maya",a movie the screenplay of which is a spate of clichés of the popular cinema,has its moments : -the depiction of the ship,with the men eager to get to the harbor and have fun with girls.

-the first appearance of Viviane Romance ,who looks like a fallen Madonna on the street of shame.

-the hooker,closing the doll box,before going to her daughter's funeral -the hookers,looking for a notice to put on their absent "colleague"'s room.

-the always reliable Marcel Dalio's killing Frenzy.

PS:watch out for Robert Hossein's short appearance,as a sailor on the street.