Marius (1931)

Set in the coastal town of Marseille, the film is centered on the drama of Marius and Fanny, two childhood friends. He is a waiter in his father's bar and she works at her mother's cockle stand. She has been in love with Marius since the very beginning of their acquaintance. He'd rather sail away.

A very gripping and transcendent drama. It comes down to the fact that life cannot give you all, you have to choose, but in fact there isn't much of a choice at all, one's got to do what one's got to do. In other words boys will be boys, girls will be girls. The direction does a lot with very little. Most of it is a theatrical transposition and the inserts between the scenes are very eloquent images of the sea, etc. The performances are marvelous.
Dale Thomajan placed it on the top of his top ten list for 1933 (he must have taken into account the year of the film's U.S. release).

Rating: 80
(4th place in my favorites for 1931)