Film Review
Transference of guilt, that ingenious device beloved on crime thriller writers and Alfred
Hitchcock, forms the basis for this masterfully composed psychological drama. Although
Edouard Molinaro is perhaps best known for his box office hits such as
Hibernatus
(1969) and
La
Cage aux folles (1978), he also directed a number of respectable serious films,
of which
La Mort de Belle is among his best, a respectable adaptation of a Georges
Simenon novel.
© James Travers 2003
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Next Edouard Molinaro film:
Arsène Lupin contre Arsène Lupin (1962)
Film Synopsis
Living near Geneva with his wife, Stéphane Blanchon leads a respectable
middle-class existence as a literature teacher. He is the model citizen,
but when a young woman is found dead, murdered in his house, the finger of
suspicion is quick to point in his direction and his whole world rapidly
begins to fall apart. The woman in question is a young American student
named Belle, the daughter of a friend of Stéphane's wife. The
couple had agreed to accommodate Belle in their villa whilst she completed
her studies, and even though she was an incredibly attractive girl, Stéphane
had no amorous designs on her throughout the period he knew her. In
the course of the police investigation, it becomes apparent that Belle was
secretly in love with him, and Stéphane begins to wonders if he did
after all offer her any encouragement.
It is now, with his nerves and reputation both the worse for wear after being
put through the wringer, that the teacher suddenly becomes aware of how strait-laced
and colourless his life has been, and how little he has succeeded in both
his private and professional lives. When he is finally acquitted of
the murder charge, Stéphane makes up his mind to start leading a new,
far less inhibited life. He begins by going out on the town and experiencing
Geneva's vibrant night life. This is how he comes to meet Alice, a
young woman he finds he is strongly attracted to. She appears more
than willing to spend a night of torrid passion with him, but when she takes
Stéphane back to her room the spectre of Belle suddenly returns to
the teacher. It seems that history is about to repeat itself...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.