La denonciation / The Betrayal (1962)
The Betrayal / La denonciation (1962)
DVD5 | ISO | PAL | 16:9 | 720x576 | 5200 kbps | 4.5Gb
Audio: French AC3 2.0 @ 256 Kbps | Subtitles: English (custom)
01:41:00 | France | Crime, Drama
DVD5 | ISO | PAL | 16:9 | 720x576 | 5200 kbps | 4.5Gb
Audio: French AC3 2.0 @ 256 Kbps | Subtitles: English (custom)
01:41:00 | France | Crime, Drama
Paris, october 1961. Michel Jussieu, a film producer, finds the body of a journalist from a Rightist paper in a night-club. Mixed up accidentally to the event, he is asked to help the police. This collaboration reminds him of what happened to him when, as a member of a resistance group, he was in the hands of the Gestapo in 1944. And makes him wonder if he must collaborate with the police
Director: Jacques Doniol-Valcroze
Cast: Maurice Ronet, Francoise Brion, Nicole Berger, Sacha Pitoeff, Michele Grellier, Francois Maistre, Laurent Terzieff, France Anglade, Gisele Braunberger, Jean-Claude Darnal, Nounours Dora, Andre Dumas, Leon Elkenbaum, Marc Eyraud, Roland Gregoire, Raymond Gerome, Gisele Hauchecorne, Guy Jacquet, Borany Kassano, Claude Kiejman, Gilles Lafferre, Florence Loinod, Michael Lonsdale, Guy Lore, Sonia Martin, Bernard Meusnier, Jacques Santi, Jacques Seiler, Jean Solar, Rafa Temporel
Extras:
- Doniol-Valcroze by P H Deleau (6 min. short, custom subbed)
- Doniol-Valcroze's filmography
La denonciation / The Betrayal (1962)
La denonciation / The Betrayal (1962)
IMDb
Doniol-Volcroze was one of the young Turks of the nouvelle vague as well as the eminence grise of "les cahiers du cinema" where Truffaut ,Godard and al cut their teeth .His career was not as famous as theirs and most of his works fell into oblivion with the exception of "la maison des Bories" (1970) which anyway was not "nouvelle vague" at all.
Directing of "La denonciation" ,on the other hand,seems dated today : loose screenplay,weak female characters ,abuse of voice-over ;this abuse is all the more irritating as Maurice Ronet is as good as ever .One of the best thespians of the era (particularly for Malle :"ascenseur pour l'echafaud" and "le feu follet"),he makes these continuous frames of mind redundant.
And the screenplay ,however,was very interesting.Probably influenced by Borges's "theme of the traitor and hero",it features the symmetry dear to the writer.During WW2,when he was a resistant,Ronet's character gave his companions away to the gestapo.During the questioning,a young French teacher acted as interpreter for the German officer and him.After the war,he was regarded as a hero and when he was confronted to the young collaborator,the latter said nothing about what he knew of the resistant's betrayal.But the man could never get over this unbearable memory.And history repeated itself:he was the eyewitness of a murder and he had to denounce somebody again.But his memories came back to haunt him and he did not know what to do.
The movie remains very ambiguous and brings out responsibility without taking sides.The hero's behavior is eminently questionable ,and Ronet is up to scratch for what is a very perilous portrayal.
~ dbdumonteil
La denonciation / The Betrayal (1962)
La denonciation / The Betrayal (1962)
