Ténèbres Françaises

The world of French cinema is vast and multi-layered, as likely to veer into genre film as it is to pursue more arty, even absurdist notions. In terms of embracing dark moods and themes, be it in the form of murderous urges, aberrant sexual leanings, self-destructive machinations, or outright neuroses, the Gallic lens is perfectly adept. Here we present four varied approaches to the thriller à la française. 

LES COUSINES (THE COUSINS)
Lucile, paralyzed and mute from a childhood trauma, lives with her sister Josine and their cousin Elisa. While the mother of Lucile and Josine frets over increasing costs and the complications of Lucile reaching legal age, Josine and Elisa live reckless lives of sexual abandon while mentally and physically torturing Lucile, their powerless victim. Playing their cruel games, getting high, and seducing men aren't enough for these two; they're in search of darker sadistic kicks. Also released as From Ear to Ear, this shocker of modernity and liberated morals was directed by veteran cinematographer Louis Soulanes (La Pointe Courte) and features Solange Pradel (World on a Wire), Alain Doutey (The Big Red One), and Katia Tchenko (The Bishop's Bedroom).

QUI? (WHO?)
An arguing couple gets into a car on the Brittany coast where, driving erratically, it suddenly launches off a cliff and crashes into the waters below. The man Claude disappears into the sea, while the woman Marina manages to escape, and soon comes under questioning by the police as well as Claude's brother Serge. Serge soon falls in love with Marina, despite her hazy, suspicious recollection of the accident. Returning to Paris, the two begin to retrace the crash and realize how inscrutable Claude was, amid coping with Marina's fractured memory and heightened nerves. Claude's body never turns up, and it becomes trickier to find out what, and moreover who is to blame for the accident. A giallo-esque thriller from Léonard Keigel (A Woman One Day) awash in a gorgeous score from jazz legend Claude Bolling (Flic Story), it stars Romy Schneider (The Swimming Pool), Maurice Ronet (Bloodline), and Gabriele Tinti (Mystère).

LE SECRET (THE SECRET)
Author Thomas and his wife Julia enjoy a quiet life isolated in the French countryside until one day when David, on the run and anxious, wanders onto their land. Sensing a man in need as well as a potential adventure, Thomas commits to help him, but Julia has her suspicions. As pressure mounts and a manhunt ensues, the trio hit the road, while David's story of escape and persecution sounds increasingly neurotic, even unlikely. What is the secret behind David's incarceration and escape, the burden he carries but refuses to share? How far will the couple go to help a man who may be mentally unstable evade capture? This taut conspiracy thriller was directed by Robert Enrico (The Old Gun) and stars Jean-Louis Trintignant (The Great Silence), Marlène Jobert (Rider on the Rain) and Philippe Noiret (Cinema Paradiso). 

NUIT D'OR (GOLDEN NIGHT)
Michel Fournier is back, seemingly from the dead, and vows to exact revenge on all who wronged him, particularly his family. Menacingly issuing each of them a voodoo doll, his threats and intentions get increasingly obtuse as the world around him proves nightmarish and warped. From encountering a death cult to conducting a kidnapping, to trashing an underground casino, Fournier's anxious, infernal rage is at the center of this quixotic and noir-infused exercise. Pairing lush yet unnerving visuals with a score by Chabrol regular Pierre Jansen (The Butcher), the film features the singular Klaus Kinski (Paganini) as Fournier, along with Marie Dubois (Jules and Jim), Maurice Ronet (The Champagne Murders), and Anny Duperey (Two or Three Things I Know About Her), under direction by the multi-talented writer/director/journalist Serge Moati (writer of The Nude Vampire).