Plot from Imdb. "French village doctor becomes target of poison-pen letters sent to village leaders, accusing him of affairs and practicing abortion."
An all-time classic. A perfect movie about human nature. An incredible achievement by HG Clouzot, one of the most respected french director of the 20th century. Incredibly, this story of anonymous letters was made during the German occupation and under their watch. At a time were some of the french population was acting as informers for the Nazi regime and the pro-Nazi french government, it is hard to believe that the political implications of that story didn't ring a bell. The movie in itself is technically perfect, as usual with Clouzot, and at the same time, very simple. Everything is made to be efficient. On that level, Clouzot could be considered a french Hitchcock (some of his other works, like "Les Diaboliques", are definitively Hitchcockians). The acting is really great, a special mention to Pierre Fresnay, the main male lead. But the main character is the "provincial little town-everybody knows everything about everybody" atmosphere. It really reeks with fear, cowardliness and mediocrity. Society in this microcosm is not far away from what we usually associate with the so-called "primitive" cultures: the non-said laws, the forbidden behaviors, the impossibility for someone to reinvent oneself, the imposed -even if absurd- traditional rules, the oppression of the locals... If you should watch only one french movie in your life, you should watch this one.
Trailer without English subs:
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