For his first feature film, Bertrand Tavernier chose to transport the Simenon characters to his native town of Lyons. Michel Descombes works as a clockmaker in the St-Paul area of Lyons. One evening he finds the Police at his door asking about his son, Bernard. Bernard is suspected of shooting a security guard at a factory and has run away with his girlfriend. As the Police enquiry progresses, Michel realises he knows very little about his son and can hardly assist Commissioner Guiboud. The choice of Aurenche and Bost as screenwriters can be regarded as an anti ‘Nouvelle Vague’ statement from Tavernier. Both writers were strongly associated with film-makers such as Claude Autant-Lara and a more traditional style of cinema. Awards: Prix Louis Delluc 1973 ; Berlin Film Festival 1974 - Special Jury Prize.
Credits: Producer, Raymond Danon ; director, Bertrand Tavernier ; writers, Jean Aurenche, Pierre Bost, Bertrand Tavernier ; photography, Pierre-William Glenn ; music, Philippe Sarde.
Cast: Philippe Noiret, Jean Rochefort, Jacques Denis, Clotilde Joanno, Sylvain Rougerie, Christine Pascal, Monique Chaumette, William Sabatier.
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Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
X000036
Languages
English
French
Subject category
Foreign language films
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Colour
Holdings
16mm film; Limited Access Print (Section 2)