A wonderfully atmospheric film about army deserter Jean (Jean Gabin), who arrives in Le Havre seeking a ship to take him out of the country. That night, however, he meets the beautiful Nelly and finds himself torn between making his own escape and helping her get away from the clutches of her evil godfather. The creative combination of director Marcel Carné and writer Jacques Prévert delivers a classic example of the poetic realism that links the German Expressionist films of the 1920s with the Hollywood films noir of the 1940s and 50s.