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An ordinary young Paris office worker suddenly decides to retreat into his own inner world, giving up his loquacious new wife, his friends, work and possessions. He ends up contentedly staring at a blank wall in the bare room of mental clinic. The theme of alienation, a prevalent one in the 1960s, has seldom been explored with such wry wit and sensitivity, although the film’s attitude to its hero remains ambiguous. Awards: Cannes Festival (1964): Critics’ Week Prize ; Venice Film Festival (1964): Prize for the First Work. Reference: Bloomsbury Foreign Film Guide.
Credits: Director, Alain Jessua ; writer, Alain Jessua ; photography, Jacques Robin ; music, Jacques Loussier.
Cast: Charles Denner, Anna Gaylor, Jean Yanne, Yvonne Clech, Robert Bousquet, Nicole Gueden, Guy Saint-Jean, Francois Moncey, Jean Dewewer.
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How to watch
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
X000497
Languages
English
French
Subject category
Foreign language films
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Black and White
Holdings
16mm film; Limited Access Print (Section 2)