Children of Paradise - Characters & Cast

Her primary motivation is to live freely and authentically. As she tells Baptiste, she is "simple" and wants to "please those I like." She is not driven by wealth or status, but by a desire to avoid being possessed or defined by others. This core motivation forces her to leave the men who try to cage her, even the one she truly loves.

Garance begins as a free-spirited woman of the people, navigating the world with a mix of charm and world-weariness. She seeks freedom and simple pleasures but becomes an object of intense desire for four men. Her arc is not one of transformation but of reaction; she is constantly forced to make choices that compromise her freedom to escape the possessiveness of others. She becomes the mistress of a count to avoid prison, but eventually returns to Paris, drawn by her love for Baptiste. Ultimately, she chooses her freedom over a complicated life with him, remaining an enigmatic and unattainable figure.

Baptiste is motivated by an all-consuming, idealized love for Garance. She is his muse and the source of his art. He believes dreams and life are the same, and his entire existence becomes a performance of his unrequited passion. His art is the only realm where he can fully express the love he cannot seem to grasp in reality.

Baptiste starts as a gifted but unrecognized street mime. His love for Garance awakens his artistic genius, transforming him into the star of the Funambules theatre. However, his idealism and inability to act decisively in his personal life lead to his tragedy. He idealizes Garance to such an extent that he hesitates when she offers herself to him. Years later, though married to Nathalie and a father, he remains consumed by his love for Garance. His arc is one of artistic triumph and personal failure, culminating in his desperate, futile pursuit of Garance through the carnival crowd.

Frédérick is driven by ambition and a thirst for life's experiences, both on and off the stage. He wants to conquer the theater world and every beautiful woman he meets. He sees life as a grand performance and himself as the leading man. As he exclaims, "Tonight you drank with Julius Caesar... It's my turn now. Let me have my chance."

Frédérick begins as a charming, arrogant, and womanizing actor, hungry for fame. He successfully seduces Garance but is incapable of the deep, devoted love Baptiste feels. Over the years, he achieves his dream of becoming a celebrated stage actor. His experience with Garance, particularly the jealousy he feels for the first time, deepens him as an artist, allowing him to finally understand and master the role of Othello. He evolves from a superficial philanderer into a more self-aware, albeit still flamboyant, artist who recognizes the nobility in Baptiste's love.

Lacenaire is motivated by a contempt for societal norms and a desire to exert his will upon the world through crime and manipulation. He is an intellectual anarchist who takes pride in his evil. His interest in Garance stems from a mix of desire and the pleasure he takes in meddling in others' fates, stating that the thought of men killing each other over a woman because of him "comforts" him.

Lacenaire is a proud, articulate, and dangerous criminal who views the world with cynical detachment. He is involved with Garance early on and remains a menacing presence throughout the film. His character does not have a significant arc; he remains consistently amoral and contemptuous of society. He acts as a dark catalyst in the plot, his crimes forcing Garance to seek the Count's protection. His story ends as it was destined to, with him committing a final, defiant act of murder before being arrested.