Les Godelureaux (1961) - film review

Roland, an idler living on the Left Bank in Paris, is determined to inflict a terrible revenge on his friend Arthur, after the latter subjected him to a harmless joke.  He engages the services of the seductive Ambroisine, who pretends to fall in love with Arthur.  Oblivious to his friend’s scheming, Arthur is certain that Ambroisine’s feelings for him are genuine and looks forward to their wedding day…

After the hugely controversial Les Bonnes femmes, Claude Chabrol’s next film was this distinctively New Wave satire, an uninhibited portrayal of human spite and self-destructive delusion.  Although an entertaining film, it appears inconsequential alongside the more notable films which Chabrol made during this period.  It is perhaps most memorable for the hugely caricatured performances by Jean-Claude Brialy and Bernadette Laffont.  Film critics and film historians are still arguing over what the film really means.

© James Travers 2000

For more on Claude Chabrol see:
The life of Claude Chabrol
Le Beau Serge
Les Cousins
Le Boucher
Que la bête meure
La Cérémonie




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