René Clair returned to the Paris working class faubourgs of his pre-war films (Sous les Toits de Paris, Le Quatorze Juillet) to make Porte des Lilas in 1957. But, unlike the earlier works, this film takes a sad, almost elegiac attitude toward this ancient quarter of Paris and its denizens. Pierre Brasseur stars as the genial neighborhood ne'er-do-well, Juju, who, along with his guitarist crony, L'Artiste, (played by popular French singer Georges Brassens) unknowingly takes in a murderer on the run. The presence of this flashy, brash young man (Henri Vidal) tests their friendship and galvanizes the lives of their bistro compatriots. Brasseur, often cast as a villain, gives a beautiful performance as the middle-aged wino who comes to a belated understanding of his purpose in life in this subtly despairing film.