Born in 1906 in Paris, Marcel Carné beat the pavement of the City of Light and became passionate about cinema. In 1928, Jacques Feyder took him under his wing, then Marcel Carné became independent in 1936 by signing Jenny, a melodrama that marked the birth of his tandem with Jacques Prévert. Drôle de drame, Le Quai des brumes, Le jour se lève…: the words of the rebellious poet (“T’as d’beaux yeux, tu sais”) and the virtuosity of the director, influenced by Expressionism, combine to forge a social and aesthetic revolution: poetic realism. In the France of the Popular Front, the little people, magnified by the glibness of a Gabin or an Arletty, are the heroes of great films. Through the life and career of Marcel Carné, using film excerpts and archives (including touching interviews with the director), François Aymé weaves a fascinating portrait of a hypersensitive man who had to deal with his homosexuality and who, despite his brilliance, was long relegated to the shadow of his actors and Prévert, who were credited with their greatest success.