Port of Shadows (1938) on Netflix

Plot summary

A military deserter finds love and trouble (and a small dog) in a foggy, French port city.

Life's a rotten business, says Jean, a deserter who arrives at night in Le Havre, looking to leave the country. He lucks into civilian clothes, a little bit of money, a passport, and a dog, and he also meets Nelly, a 17-year-old who's grown up too fast. She's the object of lust of men: including a boyfriend Maurice, her putative protector Zabel, and Lucien, a local hood. Jean falls for her, faces down Lucien, and gives her courage to stand on her own feet. A ship is leaving for Venezuela; can at least one of them be on it, or is that just a dream?

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In high hopes of wiping the slate clean, Jean, a taciturn deserter from the French Colonial Army, ends up in the fog-covered port city of Le Havre. Like a fish out of water, Jean holes himself up in a remote bar at the far edge of the harbour, until he finds a new set of clothes and a new identity to catch the next ship to Venezuela. But, there, a chance encounter with the delicate seventeen-year-old woman, Nelly, will drag Jean into a dangerous world of aspiring gangsters and shady merchants, putting in jeopardy his sweet dream of a better life. Now, smitten by beautiful Nelly, Jean has his back to the wall. Is love the ultimate prize?