Film Review
After a first failure in 1967 with
L'Horizon,
the none too prolific film director Jacques Rouffio presented his
second film,
Sept morts sur
ordonnance eight years later to the Parisian public, on 3rd
December 1975. This psychological and political thriller is a
Franco- Hispano- German co-production in colour, based on a true story
which took place in Reims. Rouffio and his technical crew filmed
in France and Spain (some unknown Spanish and German actors take
several small parts). The script and well-honed dialogue are also
Rouffio's work.
The film's strong characters are played by a remarkable Michel Piccoli,
a flamboyant Gérard Depardieu, a dramatic Jane Birkin, an
impeccable Marina Vlady, a magnificent Charles Vanel and an excellent
Michel Auclair. This masterpiece of 1970s French cinema is
probably Rouffio's most powerful film. About Philippe Sarde's
soundtrack, a clever and thrilling score, one calls to mind the work of
American Jerry Goldschmidt. This disturbing and shocking
drama compares with some of Claude Chabrol's films and, in its best
moments, has some of the bite of Costa-Gavras's work. Rouffio's
ruthless reflection on scandals and unfair practices in the medical
world in not so far from our present reality and the film has lost none
of its original impact.
Today, some will say that the development of the characters caught in a
spider's web is out of date, that the film has lost its rhythm and
structure and that Gérard Depardieu (27 at the time) was too
young for the part. However when the physical and mental
identification between Piccoli and Depardieu becomes evident no one can
deny that the movie's power is due to the parallel between the
destinies of their two characters.
Other films from Jacques Rouffio are
Violette
et Francois and
Le Sucre, but another
spectacular success will be the 1981 film
La Passante du sans-souci,
starring Romy Schneider in her last role.
Sept morts sur ordonnance can be
discovered and rediscovered on DVD.
© Willems Henri (Brussels, Belgium) 2012
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Film Synopsis
Dr Pierre Losseray works at a clinic in a French provincial town and is
married to the lovely Muriel. When he suffers a heart attack, his
rivals are quick to exploit the situation. Dr Breze advises
Pierre that he must give up his practice, warning him that his next
heart attack could be fatal. Pierre ignores this advice but then
he learns that, ten years before, Breze managed to destroy the
reputation of another doctor...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.