As the screenplay was written by Gerard Brach ,who also wrote that of "Cul De Sac" ,the resemblance between these two works is striking: a fugitive takes refuge in a manor ("it's Dracula's castle" says one character) where a blind retired thespian lives ;he meets his nephew and his girlfriend who visit him and the Young man ,who sees his sweetheart is slowly falling in love with the intruder,is infuriated.
Like Roman Polanski's 1966 work,it's not a very accessible effort: a doom-laden atmosphere ,in a place which seems out of this world:the last picture shows the castle as isolated as the island in "Cul De Sac". Inside ,armors,statues,old pictures ,picture of decadence which reflect the owner's frames of mind:we know nothing about his career,but he is a fallen star who probably thinks that "he is still big (In his last scene ,he delivers his lines as if he were on a stage ) but it's the pictures (or the stage) that got small ".
The fugitive is apparently very different from the blind host;but actually they have a lot in common :we know absolutely nothing about him too except that he is pursued by killers and has a girlfriend called Isabelle we never see .The coming of the nephew ,a visit motivated by interest ,crystallizes the relationship between the two men :both are beautiful losers ,who already live in another world,epitomized by the mansion :in this world,there' s no place for greedy despicable wimps .
Michel Robin who rarely plays the lead,pulls it off with much restraint;Harvel Keitel,one of Scorcese's favorite actors,had already worked in France (Tavernier's "La Mort En Direct ") ,and in this country ,he seems to give more human performances :he speaks ,now in English ,now in French ,and even when he phones Isabelle ,he makes us feels all his hopes have faded.Supporting cast includes young Richard Anconina and Catherine Frot.
Not exactly entertaining,but haunting ;a wonderful cinematography by Henri Alekan and an unusually inventive sense of space.
Like Roman Polanski's 1966 work,it's not a very accessible effort: a doom-laden atmosphere ,in a place which seems out of this world:the last picture shows the castle as isolated as the island in "Cul De Sac". Inside ,armors,statues,old pictures ,picture of decadence which reflect the owner's frames of mind:we know nothing about his career,but he is a fallen star who probably thinks that "he is still big (In his last scene ,he delivers his lines as if he were on a stage ) but it's the pictures (or the stage) that got small ".
The fugitive is apparently very different from the blind host;but actually they have a lot in common :we know absolutely nothing about him too except that he is pursued by killers and has a girlfriend called Isabelle we never see .The coming of the nephew ,a visit motivated by interest ,crystallizes the relationship between the two men :both are beautiful losers ,who already live in another world,epitomized by the mansion :in this world,there' s no place for greedy despicable wimps .
Michel Robin who rarely plays the lead,pulls it off with much restraint;Harvel Keitel,one of Scorcese's favorite actors,had already worked in France (Tavernier's "La Mort En Direct ") ,and in this country ,he seems to give more human performances :he speaks ,now in English ,now in French ,and even when he phones Isabelle ,he makes us feels all his hopes have faded.Supporting cast includes young Richard Anconina and Catherine Frot.
Not exactly entertaining,but haunting ;a wonderful cinematography by Henri Alekan and an unusually inventive sense of space.
