Un assassin qui passe (1981)
Directed by Michel Vianey

Film Review

This is a very dark detective thriller which also serves as a moving examination of the psychology of an unwitting psychopath.  Richard Berry plays the disturbed murderer who is incapable of controlling his dangerous emotions in an inspired piece or casting.   Berry is rarely this intensely caught up in his character and he gives one of his most memorable performances.  The sheer hopelessness of his character's lot is magnificently echoed by some stunning camera work which shows that he is as much the victim of his crimes as he is the perpetrator.

Jean-Louis Trintignant plays the charismatic and completely ruthless police inspector who is hot on the trail of the serial killer.  In a curious reversal of roles, his character is presented as the villain, even though he is, at heart, as lonely and as pathetic as the killer he is pursuing.

Film Synopsis

Jacques, a modest bank employee in Paris, finds it hard to enter into any kind of normal relationship with the opposite sex.  Whenever he approaches a woman the object of his desire takes fright at his strange behaviour and repels him.  This series of brutal rejections causes Jacques to becoming increasing violent, and in the end he begins to kill the women to whom he is strongly attracted.  One day, he acquires an obsessive interest in a film actress named Pauline.  Armed with a knife, he forces his way into her home and forces her to strip.  Even though the woman complies with his instructions, Jacques cannot bring himself to touch her.  He leaves her unharmed and she promptly gets in touch with the police.

Pauline's anxious call arouses the interest of Superintendent Ravic, who sees an immediate connection with the series of murders he has been investigating.  Putting himself in the killer's shoes, Ravic knows that Jacques is bound to return to Pauline's apartment sooner or later - and when he does, the cop will be ready for him.  Sure enough, having killed again, Jacques calls on the actress a second time and is surprised to find that Pauline is more than ready to give herself to him.  Little does he know that Ravic is waiting nearby, seething with jealousy...