Panique

After his exile in the United States during the War, JulienDuviviercame back to France and filmed Panique in 1946. It took him some time to refind success in this post-War period. It is easy to find this film pessimistic, cynical and fatalistic, which can in part explain its lack of success with audiences and critics alike. Just after the War there was a search for reconstruction and a certain cohesion in order to forget that painful period. To that extent the film goes against this desire, unlike Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life, for instance, which was made at the same time and which is much more optimistic. Paniqueis a powerful film criticises the darkness of the world, human stupidity and individualism in the face of the weight of the rumour that Monsieur Hire has to contend with.