Prevert's poetry offers an irreverent, childlike view of the everyday world. Employing puns, word games, and jokes, it celebrates the unexpected and pokes fun at the serious or pompous. Paroles (1945), his first collection, introduced a freedom of form and an experimentation with spoken language that had been missing from much prewar and wartime poetry. Prevert also played a central role in the history of French cinema, writing several important film scripts, including the classic Marcel Carne film, Children of Paradise (1944). He also found the time to compose the lyrics to a number of popular songs, including the jazz standard "Autumn Leaves" ("Les Feuilles Mortes").