La Bete Humaine

Charting the turbulent relationship between a train-driver and a married woman as they plot to kill her husband, Renoir's adaptation of Emile Zola's classic novel is often cited by critics as one of the director's greatest films. Made at the height of Renoir's 1930s poetic realism period, the film also has shades of film-noir with its sexually charged story and self-destructive, hard-boiled anti-hero. Featuring a truly unforgettable performance by Jean Gabin as Lantier, the tormented train-driver, Le Bete Humaine was one of Renoir's biggest successes.