Pépé le Moko (Cabin) becomes the kingpin of the Arabic-speaking Casbah area in Algiers, but he is French, a jewel thief wanted by the continent police department, but due to the maze-like topography of the locality, the inane offshore gendarmerie cannot arrest him in situ, the sole way to nick him is to lure him out of his gangster haunt where he is accompanied by his loyal henchmen, to the open city, but how?
The advent of Parisian glamor puss Gaby (Balin) appositely acts as the crucial bait, she is a casual tourist stuck with an affluent but much older companion Maxime (Granval), a bejeweled Gaby enthralls Pépé almost in their first glance, and the feeling is mutual, his gangster flair excites and entrances her too. Pépé becomes increasingly nostalgic of his homeland, imagines a fresh start with Gaby, a true Parisienne dame (who own provenance actually smells rather dodgy, a trophy girl actually can jilt her sugar daddy for a wanted man), and gets extremely vexed by his Romany lover Inès (Noro). When one of the members his criminal outfit is tricked out of the Casbah and then ambushed by the policemen, Pépé sees through the scheme of the rat instantaneously, but when it comes to his own turn, can he resist the temptation to stay put, or safely lend his feet on that outbound ocean-liner with Gaby, or woefully falls by the wayside on the homestretch? Reckoning the film’s unanimous repute as a key antecedent and influencer of film-noir, the answer might look pretty obvious.
Director Julien Duvivier avails himself of glamorizing close-ups with soft focus to foreground Cabin and Balin’s monochromatic sex appeal, and the film can still knock today’s audience dead with its avant-garde methods of remarkably recreating the Casbah both in wide-angle shots and at close quarters, and roundly couples a reluctant outsider’s gnawing homesick with the beguiling psych-geographical dynamism, though one can take it for granted that it mostly emanates from a colonial slant, taking the example when Pépé goes berserk in the wake of the fall of his protégé Pierrot (Gil), it is the indigenous denizens are at the receiving end of his ineluctable rage.
While the story (adapted from Henri La Barthe’s novel) portrays the outlaw Pépé as a worldly, sympathetic alpha male if essentially machismo, who can instinctively sniff out the mole in a trice (also underpinned by Charpin’s superb rendition of double-crossing and dread-mounting), it is the tie-in with his frenemy, the local Inspector Slimane (a fez-donned Gridoux, wallowing in grand double-talk and slightly irksome complacency) that makes PÉPÉ LE MOKO transcend the usual perimeter of cops-and-robbers dichotomy, aka., under a different circumstance, they could be thick as thieves.
Cabin acquits himself wondrously with a contradicted complexion of savviness and naiveté, and his emotion range is put into great test, a role that irrevocably ricochets him onto the stratosphere of international movie stars, however, Line Noro harrowingly resists the stereotype and holds our attention with Inés’ irrational persistence even she has to take the short end of the stick as the lover blinded by the green-eyed monster, whereas Mireille Balin has a less taxing job to look simply fabulous with impeccably plucked eyebrows.
On the narrative front, the story doesn’t consistently hold water when it seems way too effortless for Pépé to leave his habitant and embark on a ship without anyone’s notice (if it weren’t for Inés’ timely tip), which goes against the grain with Pépé hyped worry of going out of his protected turf and only compounds the police force’s yawning incompetence.
Anyway, Hollywood would soon grind out a remake just within a year, John Cromwell’s ALGIERS (1948) starring Charles Boyer and Hedy Lamarr, which suffices to attest the film’s international success, and more saliently, PÉPÉ LE MOKO evocatively anticipates Michael Curtiz’s CASABLANCA, another doomed romance in an exotic land that strikes its permanent impact poetically and vehemently.
referential entries: Michael Curtiz’s CASABLANCA (1942, 8.9/10); Marcel Pagnol’s Harvest (1937, 8.0/10).
概述：1937年的《逃犯贝贝》，属于法国诗意浪漫主义时期的作品，但也被认为是黑色电影的先驱之作。讲述了巴黎一个盗窃团伙的首领贝贝，被设计后逮捕，望着心爱之人所乘轮船的离去，最终选择自杀的故事。
1.异于黑色电影的非典型大盗
虽被被称为黑色电影的先驱，但比起黑色电影中那无所不能的大盗、阴暗潮湿的色调、悬疑凶杀的故事线、悲观的社会情绪......《贝贝》更加聚焦于主人公欲想突破牢笼的挣扎与命运的悲剧性，他渴望自由，却因被通缉而蜷缩，终于下定决心追求所爱、却抱憾被捕。影片加入了更多的悲情基调，种种巧合堆砌出的遗憾促使贝贝的自杀，像是命运般的悲剧。（“我是个自由人！听着”虽是受人尊敬的江洋大盗，看似潇洒快活，但也被此身份牢牢套住）
2.诗意的叙述结构和视听呈现
影片开头以警官对于卡斯巴这个迷宫城市文学性的陈述描述开篇，配合人物独白展示城市的错综混乱、人种复杂，作为贝贝这个江洋大盗的藏身之地可谓是浑然天成。前期也没有对贝贝的人物画面展现，这是刻意营造的神秘感。
本片还是以较为纪实的手法去进行叙事的，但在贝贝得知情人的离去，终于下定决心离开藏身之地的时候，影片使用大光圈聚焦贝贝的神态，使背景虚化营造个人的恍惚，画面背景也从街景变成汹涌的大海。这种戏剧化的视听呈现，充分地展示了人物内心。（两人对视对女人细节的展示镌刻）
3.情节设计的紧密和流畅
本片的整体情节就在于警官对于贝贝展开抓捕行动的设计和贝贝应对此的种种行为中展开的，情节的组织紧密结合、环环相扣。片子中的一个片段非常精彩，叛徒在见到被自己陷害的皮耶霍回来时，脸上的笑容转为惊恐而后退，碰到了唱片放出欢快音乐，迎接他的却是死亡的恐惧。皮耶霍在欢快的节奏中举起枪，一个仰角镜头，他与头上墙壁的天使图案同处一个画面之中，叙事的流畅性与欢快音乐营造出反差感和谐交织。
关于逃离的本能欲望和禁锢的必然命运，最后一刀刺出了贝贝的悲剧色彩；“诗意现实主义”代表作，充满文学性。
可惜看的是字幕机翻的。
好讨厌的贝贝，好悲哀的男性主义电影。大景深的移动镜头拍摄街景。如果只看那些街道和人群的镜头组接，这片子该多么现实主义。精致浮夸的对话文本，和想要靠近底层的镜头，很脱节，不舒服。他爱的哪是这个符号般的女人，他爱的是巴黎，是消费主义，是资产阶级…他抛弃的也不是阿尔及利亚的女人，他抛弃了整个第三世界。
3.5星，爱情部分看上去很突兀，但是对贝贝来说这个女人就像是他心中巴黎的一个缩影，代表了那个城市，如果这样去理解的话那么身在阿尔及利亚的贝贝的这种看似无来由的强烈感情就很好理解了。镜头调度尤其是一些流畅的运动镜头令人印象深刻。PS老女人放的那首歌应该是影片的点睛之笔吧。。。
又是好汉难过美人观的故事 美人长得多像Marlene Dietrich的
开头几个场景的调度很牛啊，但片子进行下去以后就完蛋了。节奏感全无，法式啰嗦贯穿，几个小弟止于每个人设计的小特点，主角完全没有吹的那么厉害。爱情来的无厘头。城寨也一片繁荣和气，偶有暗杀都是主角们干的。冲出城寨的原因虽有铺垫，但也失于简单。考虑到3几年的作品，稍微可以原谅。
8.2/10。两条线交织：为摆脱法国警方而逃到阿尔及尔的罪犯男主（法国人，已有女友）与法国和当地警方的斗智斗勇；男主与来此旅行的法国游客女主（已有男友）从相识到相爱。最终男主中了警方的计谋且女主也被警方骗着离开了阿尔及尔（也就等于离开了男主），绝望的男主于是自杀。影片有着浪漫诗意而又表意有力的高水平摄影美术，运镜与场面调度也精准娴熟，但作为传统故事片本片叙事较拖，扣0.5。另外，本片有些地方有缺乏影像意义的失焦，是技术失误，扣0.1。
打光又是那么柔和而销魂。北非连成一片的屋顶，社区。明知山有虎、偏向虎山行。诗意现实主义永远登不上去的轮船，爱人到最后也看不到自己，对比下伊豆的舞女，这是多么让人绝望而悲哀。
很难说贝贝是爱上了那位女子还是太想去远方，爱对他来说犹如困兽斗。而爱他的女子为了留住他，关他入笼，最终永远失去了他。迦班怒打眼线那场正是被激怒的困兽。
啊好漂亮的镜头里好漂亮的“异域”，作为Orientalist一大代表作夸起来有种如鲠在喉的，诡异感。但melodrama得好恰当，故事表演配乐和运镜，浪子心中永不能触及的“故土”，女性化也神性化了的土地，他的FEMME of Paris。Casbah是叙事中不可或缺的背景板，但也仅限于背景板了。摆在正中的是Pepe的眼泪Gaby的钻石，是巴黎带去的风花雪月，而土地上衍生出的各色人等Slimane、Ines、Regis不过是杂音罢了【【
男主角的魅力说服力不足。无爱不活的结局总是让人唏嘘。阿尔及尔的居民区有种视觉魔力，但在这里却并未尽其用。
將愛情投射於故鄉巴黎，Casbah的異國風情十分美好，詩意寫實佳作一部。
【诗意现实主义】法国殖民背景，影片有着成熟的诗意现实特色：关注生活于社会边缘的卑微人，失意潦倒的生活以及短暂的美好感情，最终以悲观主义的伤怀基调来幻灭，宿命结局。｜预示着男女间的暧昧联结，几组逐渐变紧的正反打的柔焦特写。另外一个自古至今渲染情感的手法则是：固定的面部特写长镜头，演员专注表演，面部变化（眼泛泪光等）同理弧光。（最近内地观众最深刻的类比小偷家族中的安藤樱。）2q
贝贝可以在卡斯巴错综复杂的居民区安然自在，让警察干瞪眼，一旦没有了这个屏障，侦探使出的美人计奏效，贝贝束手就擒，但贝贝心甘情愿，这是爱情的魔力，是真挚的情感体验，即使是死路，也算值得，他走向邮轮的路上，镜头轻快而舒畅，大盗由此解脱。
老电影里的北非，Casbah连绵无尽的屋顶。15.9.25 @北京法国文化中心
(7/10)困在阿尔及尔的Casbah，对巴黎的乡愁让他铤而走险。故事今天看来太过浪漫实在不可信（着实像是大家一起过家家哈哈哈），不过空间真棒，后半部戏对情绪的调动也不错。
【中国电影资料馆展映】《卡萨布兰卡》原型。虽然是1937年的电影，但电影镜头语言成熟、丰富得让人惊讶，即使过了80年依旧熠熠生辉。贝贝的潇洒冲动，情人的深沉苦情，警察的圆滑狡诈……每个角色的形象都是那么生动，让人难忘。阿尔及尔实在是北非最有故事的城市之一。四星半
有些镜头真美啊！结局也是我所喜欢的，Jean Gabin的演出太打动人了。
贝贝真是法国男人的代名词，风流到毫无顾忌、为爱甘愿飞蛾扑火、自由的终结也就是生命的终结，在阿尔及利亚狭窄的小巷里，妒忌、仇杀、告密、赌博如旋风呼啸而过，而故乡的点点滴滴，童年的美好回忆，巴黎之梦却在阴影中慢慢酝酿，在异国歌曲与法国香颂的映照下，贝贝的故事终究成为一个悲情的注脚
个性在阿尔及尔，逃匿在阿尔及尔，爱情在阿尔及尔，浪漫在阿尔及尔，幻灭在阿尔及尔，消亡在阿尔及尔。