Les Risques du métier (1967) - film review

In an idyllic country town, Jean Doucet and his wife Suzanne teach at the local school.  One day, their happy lives are shattered when one of their schoolgirls brings a charge of attempted rape against Doucet.  Soon afterwards, two other girls step forward and accuse the schoolmaster of sexual misconduct.  When the police are called in, Doucet protests his innocence, but apparently no one will believe him.  Realising that her husband faces a life-long prison sentence if he is found guilty, Suzanne begins her own investigation...

The film that launched the film career of the popular singer Jacques Brel is all but forgotten today, which is a shame because it as relevant today as it was when it was first released.   Convincing performances from both Brel (who is a revelation in this, his first major acting role) and the child actresses who play the alleged rape victims ensure the audience is constantly unsure whom to believe – the anguish and distress of the schoolmaster is every bit as palpable as that of his alleged victims.

The style of the film is very similar to that of a 1950s crime-thriller, a typical French polar.  First, there is the plot, which involves a seemingly insoluble series of cleverly constructed mysteries (but which are, alas, all too easily resolved).  Then there are the stock characters of the genre: the attractive hero who is either victim or villain (we do not find out until the film’s end), his dangerous opponents (strong-headed schoolgirls replacing vicious gangster thugs) and, of course, the law enforcers.  However, what makes the film most obviously a polar is the way in which the narrative is constructed, using familiar devices like the flashback to compound the mystery and build suspense.

Les Risques du métier is a modest film which tells its story in an unusual and interesting way.  Whilst the ending is satisfying, it is sadly predictable and perhaps all too simplistic.  Nonetheless, the film contains some important messages for a society that is becoming increasingly paranoid over sexual abuse of minors.  On reflection, it is amazing that someone like Jacques Brel ever agreed to take on the part of an accused child rapist when you consider the harm it may have done to his career.

© James Travers 2002

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