Theory of Mind and Lies in Marcel Carné’s Les Visiteurs du soir (The Devil’s Envoys)

ABSTRACT: Marcel Carné directed Les Visiteurs du soir (1942), employing Jewish actors who were under sustained threat of arrest by undercover Gestapo agents. Correctly attributing thoughts and intentions to others, recognizing and inventing lies in these dangerous circumstances became survival skills. It is perhaps not surprising, then, that Theory of Mind is a central concern of the film, articulated from the beginning during the “Démons et merveilles” scene, which establishes Anne’s cognitive flexibility in contrast to the Devil’s predeterminism, and suggests that reading people and situations is an essential skill in a world infiltrated by the diabolical.