Les Visiteurs du Soir ("The Devil's Envoys") is a 1942 film from France directed by Marcel Carné.
The setting is 1485. Two, well, envoys from the Devil, Gilles and Dominique, have been sent out and about to spread unhappiness and despair. They arrive at the castle of Baron Hugues, where the Baron is throwing an engagement feast for his daughter Anne and for Renaud, a rather unpleasant knight. Disguised as minstrels, Gilles and Dominique enter the castle and play at the feast.
They then set about spreading unhappiness and despair. Specifically, Gilles seduces Anne while Dominique seduces Renaud. After Gilles and Dominque assume a new cover story, telling everyone that they are nobility in disguise as minstrels, they're allowed to stay in the castle, and Dominique continues to screw with the household by seducing Baron Hugues as well. However, things get more complicated when Gilles finds himself falling for lovely, kindhearted Anne for real. This deviation from the plan draws a visit from an extremely irritated Satan.
This film was produced during the German occupation of France during World War II and was the most popular film of that era there. Many people then and now have interpreted it as anti-Nazi propaganda but director Marcel Carné specifically denied this. A young Michelangelo Antonioni worked as an assistant director on this film, and a young François Chaumette debuted in a small role in it.
Tropes:
- Bittersweet Ending: Anne and Gilles have been turned to statues, but their hearts continue to beat, showing their unconquerable love.
- Captain Obvious: Anne is pure and loving and innocent, but also not all that bright. The strange visitor has announced himself to her as the Devil and proved it by performing certain magic feats and also showing her how he can be in two places at once. She still feels compelled to ask "Could you be the cause of all these troubles?"
- Chekhov's Gun: Dominique gives Renaud a gaudy ring with a "D" for Dominique on it. Predictably this comes into play later, as the Devil makes sure to point it out, causing Baron Hugues to realize that Dominique is two-timing him with Renaud.
- Creepy Changing Painting: Baron Hugues looks up at the painting of his beloved late wife and is startled to see it turn into a live-action painting of Dominique. It's Dominique's dark magic, of course.
- Deal with the Devil: Apparently in the backstory Gilles made a deal with the devil for—something. It's implied that it was a deal for Dominique, but that things went wrong because Gilles didn't recognize that Dominique was a predator just like him and that instead of "a cat and a mouse" it was "two cats." In any case there definitely was a deal, which Gilles signed in blood, and which the Devil burns up in the end when he sets Gilles free in return for Anne's affections.
- Dramatic Thunder: Satan's arrival at the castle is signaled by a thunderstorm that appears out of nowhere.
- Duel to the Death: After the Devil makes sure that Baron Hugues finds out that Renaud is romancing Dominique as well, they have a sword fight duel. On a dare from Dominique Renaud decides not to wear his chain mail underneath his armor, so he is killed.
- Emotionless Girl: Dominique, who says this about herself—she can't feel sadness or grief but also can't feel happiness, and in fact can't feel anything. It's a little vague but it seems this is the result of being in service to the Devil.
- Establishing Character Moment: Anne and Renaud, at the wedding feast. She enjoys the juggler and cringes at the sight of the deformed little people, and asks for sweet songs. Renaud is bored by the juggler, gets a leering sort of fun at the sight of the little people, and says he prefers songs about war. She's established as good-hearted and innocent and he's established as a Jerkass.
- Evil Is Petty: One might think that Satan, the Prince of Darkness, would have better things to do than mess around with three people in a country castle.
- Heartbeat Soundtrack: Heard at the end as the Devil, after turning Anne and Gilles into statues, realizes that their hearts continue to beat.
- Hit Me, Dammit!: A contemptuous Dominique sneers at Gilles, daring him to "Scare me! Hit me! Kill me!" Service to the Devil has rendered Dominique unable to feel anything at all.
- I Lied: Anne says that she will give herself to the Devil and try to love him if he sets Gilles free. After the Devil does so, she refuses to go with him, saying "I lied." The Devil is shocked that the once perfectly pure Anne would lie under any circumstances.
- "It" Is Dehumanizing: The creepy guy who totes the three deformed little people around refers to them as "creatures".
- Leg Focus: Dominique is at the entertainers' table at the feast, attracting the attention of Gilles. A camera shot from Gilles's POV shows Dominique, and then the camera slowly and deliberately pans down her long legs, encased in tights.
- Little People Are Surreal: A man brings three little people, who have ghastly facial deformities just to make them stranger, to the wedding feast as "entertainment". Also, the little people somehow know exactly who Gilles and Dominique are and why they are there at the castle. (They actually taunt Gilles and Dominique with a song.)
- Love Dodecahedron: There's Anne and Renaud, engaged to be married. Gilles and Dominique, who apparently used to be lovers themselves, setting about to seduce Anne and Renaud respectively. Then Dominique also seduces Baron Hugues to form a triangle within a triangle.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Dominique is supposed to be Disguised in Drag as a male minstrel, but her true gender is so obvious that the viewer might miss this.
- The Power of Love: Anne, armed with nothing more than the power of her love, is able to free herself from her chains and go with Gilles back to their water fountain in the garden. Near the end, Anne, again only with love, is able to leave the Devil's presence and teleport back to the dungeon where Gilles is in chains. And at the end, even after the Devil has turned Anne and Gilles to stone, he is unable to stop their beating hearts.
- Satan: Gilles actually falling in love with Anne instead of making her unhappy and abandoning her, as was the original intention, leads the Devil to appear at the castle. He's there throughout the second half of the movie, taunting Gilles and egging on the duel that gets Renaud killed.
- Scarpia Ultimatum: The Devil says that he will subject Gilles to all kinds of horrible tortures, unless Anne agrees to give herself to him, in which case he will let Gilles go. She agrees, and he gives Gilles a memory wipe and lets him go.
- Storybook Opening: As appropriate for a fairy tale, the film opens with the opening credits being presented in a storybook with a hand turning the page. Then the hand flips to a page that tells the audience that the Devil sent his minions about in 1485, before the story proper starts.
- Surprise Checkmate: Renaud is playing chess with Dominique when the Devil stops to observe. Renaud says that his position is hopeless, whereupon the Devil moves Renaud's bishop and, boom, checkmate.
- Taken for Granite: Gilles and Anne reunite by their water fountain, but the Devil is not willing to let them off the hook. He turns them into statues instead.
- Tempting Fate: As Gilles and Anne are carried away by their passion, he says "No one can stop me from loving you!" These words are followed immediately by the arrival of Satan.
- The Devil Is a Loser: Despite the Devil being portrayed as possessing tremendous power, Anne is repeatedly portrayed as flummoxing him with nothing more than The Power of Love.
- These Hands Have Killed: Baron Hugues is pretty bothered about having won the Duel to the Death with Renaud, looking at his own hand and saying "This is the hand that killed him."
- Time Stands Still: Dominique uses her magic powers and, with a strum of her lute, freezes the entire wedding feast. Then she and Gilles separately pull Renaud and Anne out of their frozen trances, each couple strolling around the grounds of the castle while everyone else remains frozen.
- Together in Death: More or less, as Gilles and Anne are turned into statues by a vengeful Devil—but their hearts continue to beat.
