Pépé le Moko

In PÉPÉ LE MOKO, Jean Gabin played an almost prototypical role that he would later vary upon often: After a failed coup, the melancholy gangster Pépé le Moko flees Paris for Algeria. In the casbah, which is at once a fortress, labyrinth and prison, he sets up a well-functioning warning system that makes him almost untouchable; in the end, however, he is punished for his belief in freedom and love. PÉPÉ LE MOKO is probably Duvivier's most famous film, a brilliantly directed and elegant milestone of Poetic realism, but also a cross between German Expressionism, classic gangster film and film noir. (re/fl)