Du haut en bas

If you love old French cinema, the fact that this includes Gabin and Simon (not to mention Peter Lorre as a tramp) will be reason enough to watch it. The start has some of that quavering music I associate with old "Little Rascals" episodes, but mercifully that doesn't last long. Much of the intrigue is predictable farce in the style of what the French call "Theatre du Boulevard", but there are some bright moments of early feminism ("What is a fossil?" "A man who thinks a woman needs him".) Since the whole premise is to follow the lives of various residents of an apartment building, the film by design shifts perspectives quite a bit, so one has to pay attention. It is very strange to have set this in Austria since the feel is so French, but not an issue ultimately. This is certainly not for everyone and not the best of early French-language film, but it has its charms, especially for completists of the genre.