The Lower Depths (1936 film)

The Lower Depths French Les Basfonds is a 1936 French drama film directed by Jean Renoir, based on a play of the same title by Maxim Gorky. Its scenes contrast the life of the upper and lower classes to comedic effect.

The police inspector meets with the slum landlord Kostylev and eyes his wife Vassilissa. Ppel speaks with Vassilissa, regretting he never loved her but remembering their good times. She wants him to kill her husband, the landlord, who is old and mean. A scene of mourning for a woman who has died follows, with fatalistic comments from the neighbors. Ppel tells Natasha she should leave with him, but she says shell leave for a man with a job, not a thief like him. Vassilissa finds them speaking and is jealous. The woman who reads romances recounts them to the baron and Natasha as if they were her own adventures. The police inspector tells the landlord an inspection has been ordered. Trying to devise a way to bribe him, the landlord and his wife suggest her sister Natasha. Vassilissa persuades Natasha to serve the inspector tea, though Natasha has declared he disgusts her. The inspector invites Natasha on a date and she cries, but he promises her a better life.Ppel and the baron discuss life along the river bank. Ppel believes only leaving with Natasha could save him from going to prison one day like his father before him. The inspector and Natasha dine alone indoors while other couples dine outdoors as a band plays. She resists his advances. Those partying outside include Ppel, pursued by Vassilissa. She tells him Natasha is not the innocent dreamer he imagines. Ppel find Natasha drunkenly enjoying the inspectors company. The men fight and Ppel leads Natasha away as the inspector cries for help. Ppel and Natasha confess their love. ........

Source: Wikipedia