Comedy Of Power Details

I can't rate this....

.... as i couldn't get the DVD to play in anything but French! Is it a french film, did i miss that?!?!?!?!!!!

[Highly rated reviewer]

Political Chabrol

A rather daring conceit from the always-interesting Claude Chabrol, in that he has built an entire film around a MacGuffin. It is never properly explained exactly what the nature of the corruption the excellent Isabelle Huppert is investigating, nor how it all fits together, nor even what the exact charges against the businessmen are. Many in the audience are likely to find this frustrating, especially since the 'story', as such, has no ending. Rather, the film is about the chaos wrought on the lives of everyone involved, and the audience is invited to calculate both the costs to each character and question whether, in the end, it could have been worth it.

The film isn't quite clinical enough to carry off such a conceit, and the director doesn't convincingly balance the various sides to the story, and nor does he quite assure us that he isn't siding with the character played by his son, Thomas, of Huppert's slacker nephew. Is he really saying that amused detachment is the only response likely to keep you sane?

A fascinating film, nonetheless, and beautifully made, right down to the primary colours art direction.