Le Cri de la soie (1996)
Directed by Yvon Marciano

Film Review

Le Cri de la soie was the first feature-length film to be directed by Yvon Marciano.  A very unusual kind of romantic drama, it is a loosely based on the true-life story of Gaëtan Gatian de Clérambault, an eminent psychiatrist and photographer of the early 1900s.  The film is unusual in that it deals openly and honestly with fetishism, a subject that was a taboo subject at the time, and virtually remains so to this day.  The only other film of note to tackle the same subject was Marie-poupée (1976), although this effectively derailed the career of its promising auteur director, Joël Séria..

The most interesting aspect of Le Cri de la soie is the relationship that slowly develops between its central character, a psychiatrist, and the strange young woman for whom he develops an almost obsessive interest, one which turns out to be as strong as her fetishistic affinity for silk. Although languorously paced and directed with modest artistry, the film holds the attention, mainly on the strength of the performances from the two charismatic lead actors - Sergio Castellitto (perhaps better known for his collaborations with Jacques Rivette, Va savoir (2001) and 36 vues du Pic Saint-Loup (2009)) and Marie Trintignant (daughter of the esteemed actor Jean-Louis Trintignant, who specialised in this kind of unconventional role). The latter is particularly beguiling in this film, in a made-to-measure role that earned her a worthy César nomination.

It would be another thirteen years before Yvon Marciano made his next feature, Vivre! (2009).  For the bulk of his career, he was content making short films, most notably La Face cachée de la Lune (1986), Émilie Muller (1993) and La Part de l'ombre (1999), which each won an award.

Film Synopsis

In 1914, an uneducated young woman named Marie Benjamin is arrested after stealing some silk from a Parisian department store.  The police are unable to make anything of Marie's fascination for her stolen object, which shows signs of extreme fetishism, so a leading psychiatrist, Gabriel de Villemer, is called in to study her.  In the course of their interviews, Gabriel discovers that Marie has an erotic obsession for silk which compensates for her lack of interest in the male sex.  Gradually, the psychiatrist comes to share his subject's response to fine fabrics and, even though they have nothing in common, he and Marie develop a close and intense relationship.  With Gabriel away fighting against the Germans in North Africa, Marie's shoplifting habit soon leads her to prison, where she uses her time of incarceration profitably to learn to read and write.  Once the war is over, Gabriel publishes his write-up of Marie's unusual case and is surprised when, one day, the mysterious woman suddenly enters his life again...