Tricheurs (1984)
Directed by Barbet Schroeder

Film Review

In the course of his stint as a producer, during which he lent his support to French New Wave directors Eric Rohmer (Ma nuit chez Maud (1969)) and Jacques Rivette (Céline et Julie vont en bateau (1974)), Barbet Schroeder made his directing debut in 1969 with the provocative drugs-themed drama More. After this daring first feature, Schroeder's subsequent work as a director has been, to put it mildly, fairly tame, and even his foray into full-on dominatrix fantasy Maîtresse (1976) is more quaintly bland than shocking.

Based on a novel by Steve Baës, Tricheurs is one of Schroeder's more interesting films, not because it is particularly inspired on the directing front, but because it deals sensitively and realistically with a subject that has rarely been well handled in cinema, namely gambling addiction. A strong central performance from Jacques Dutronc (arguably one of his best) makes this a strangely compelling work, the main protagonist's disconnection from reality cleverly underscored by the film's overly pretty design and meretricious surface gloss, which gives it a weirdly synthetic fairytale feel. Whilst lacking somewhat both in the writing and directing departments, Tricheurs is a film which effectively gets across the destructive power that gambling has once it has taken hold and deserves to be considered one of Schroeder's most worthy films.

Film Synopsis

Elric is a compulsive gambler who is at the end of his tether when he meets a young woman, Suzy, on the island of Madeira.  Convinced that she will bring him luck, Elric drags Suzy off to the casino and starts to gamble.  Although Elric's fortunes initially improve, he soon loses his winnings.  When Suzy walks away from him, Elric is penniless and he agrees to form a partnership with a notorious gaming cheat, Jorg.  The two men tour the world and make a great deal of money by cheating the casinos, but their luck soon changes: Elric meets up with Suzy again and starts losing, whilst Jorg is unmasked and goes on the run.  Still determined to make his fortune to pay for his dream chateau, Elric devises a seemingly foolproof method to win at roulette...