Fifteen years after the end of the second World War, the surviving members of a Resistance netwerk meet for a reunion. Now returned to everyday civilian life, they have all gone their individual way, adopting professions such as priest, lawyer, fashion designer, owner of a racy nightclub. "Marie-Octobre", the beautiful woman who was the group's muse and mascot, discloses the real reason behind the reunion, to wit the discovery of the traitor who betrayed them to the Gestapo and caused the death of their leader Castille. As the mood gets ever more vicious, accusations and insults fly...
This black-and-white thriller is one of the best thrillers ever made in France. Everything about it is exceptional : its intrigue, its screenplay, its cast. It's a dark mix of suspense, satire and, yes, even wit. Much of the dialogue is an exercise in beautifully honed savagery.
The whole of the story is set in a single mansion which is provided with every convenience and adorned with costly artwork. The setting remains the same, and yet it seems to change, morphing into a cage, a hall of mirrors, an arena, a courtroom. Eventually it becomes a place of execution, since the price of treason is death...
The inclusion of a television set in the mansion allows for some change and for some symbolism, since the images being shown represent a wrestling match (presumably of the catch-as-catch-can type). In its purest form, wrestling is a sport dependent on strength, suppleness and guile. In a more debased form, wrestling hits a sweet spot between a blood sport and a theatrical extravaganza where everything is possible : ganging up two against one, attacking the referee, "dying" and resurrecting, running away and hiding amidst the public. One rather gets what the director wanted to express here...
The movie states an eternal but eternally unwelcome truth, to wit that there is no human fellowship, however noble, fraternal and close, which does not hide undercurrents of rivalry or vileness.
This black-and-white thriller is one of the best thrillers ever made in France. Everything about it is exceptional : its intrigue, its screenplay, its cast. It's a dark mix of suspense, satire and, yes, even wit. Much of the dialogue is an exercise in beautifully honed savagery.
The whole of the story is set in a single mansion which is provided with every convenience and adorned with costly artwork. The setting remains the same, and yet it seems to change, morphing into a cage, a hall of mirrors, an arena, a courtroom. Eventually it becomes a place of execution, since the price of treason is death...
The inclusion of a television set in the mansion allows for some change and for some symbolism, since the images being shown represent a wrestling match (presumably of the catch-as-catch-can type). In its purest form, wrestling is a sport dependent on strength, suppleness and guile. In a more debased form, wrestling hits a sweet spot between a blood sport and a theatrical extravaganza where everything is possible : ganging up two against one, attacking the referee, "dying" and resurrecting, running away and hiding amidst the public. One rather gets what the director wanted to express here...
The movie states an eternal but eternally unwelcome truth, to wit that there is no human fellowship, however noble, fraternal and close, which does not hide undercurrents of rivalry or vileness.