Delving into French cinema of 1981,I decided to start investigating the more "obscure" offerings from the year. Getting to a page with hardly any reviews for French flicks from '81,I was happy to locate an off-beat sounding Drama with great IMDb reviews,which led to me finding out how strange this affair could get.
The plot:
While the advertising business has serious money issues, Louis Coline continues to show dedication to working at the business,with the only breaks Coline takes being to embrace his wife Nina. Fearing their business is about to go bust,the owners send Bertrand Malair in as a new manager. Caught up in Malair taking a highly active role,Coline finds himself losing all interest out of work,and developing a strange love affair for Malair's working method's.
View on the film:
Leaving his mark on every office desk, Michel Piccoli gives a fantastic, unsettling charismatic performance as Malair. Becoming the centre of attention with his relaxed manner and wide smile,Piccoli cleverly hints at something "off" at the sides of Malair,which steps into an obsessive fascism,where Malair kills all that Coline has in the outside world,in order to make him a box- ticking worker. Obeying Malair's orders, Gérard Lanvin gives a wonderful, uncomfortable in his own skin performance as Louis Coline,who is given a meek appearance by Lanvin,which gets completely crushed.
Going to the office with Jean-Marc Roberts book,the screenplay by co-writer/(with Roberts and Christopher Frank) director Pierre Granier-Deferre mercilessly strike at the still relevant office culture,from the guys trying to impress the boss on a night out,to Malair's new working methods turning the staff into soulless robots.Picking Coline out of the pack,the writers brilliantly make Malair's dominance in Coline's life gradually get a vice-like grip,shutting out outsiders from Coline.
Clearing out the desks,director Deferre & cinematographer Étienne "son of Jacques" Becker cover the film in a musky atmosphere, giving tight rows in the office an isolating texture. Choking Malair and Coline's relationship into darkness,Deferre closes in with tightly held shots unveiling Malair's growing dominance in Coline's strange affair.
The plot:
While the advertising business has serious money issues, Louis Coline continues to show dedication to working at the business,with the only breaks Coline takes being to embrace his wife Nina. Fearing their business is about to go bust,the owners send Bertrand Malair in as a new manager. Caught up in Malair taking a highly active role,Coline finds himself losing all interest out of work,and developing a strange love affair for Malair's working method's.
View on the film:
Leaving his mark on every office desk, Michel Piccoli gives a fantastic, unsettling charismatic performance as Malair. Becoming the centre of attention with his relaxed manner and wide smile,Piccoli cleverly hints at something "off" at the sides of Malair,which steps into an obsessive fascism,where Malair kills all that Coline has in the outside world,in order to make him a box- ticking worker. Obeying Malair's orders, Gérard Lanvin gives a wonderful, uncomfortable in his own skin performance as Louis Coline,who is given a meek appearance by Lanvin,which gets completely crushed.
Going to the office with Jean-Marc Roberts book,the screenplay by co-writer/(with Roberts and Christopher Frank) director Pierre Granier-Deferre mercilessly strike at the still relevant office culture,from the guys trying to impress the boss on a night out,to Malair's new working methods turning the staff into soulless robots.Picking Coline out of the pack,the writers brilliantly make Malair's dominance in Coline's life gradually get a vice-like grip,shutting out outsiders from Coline.
Clearing out the desks,director Deferre & cinematographer Étienne "son of Jacques" Becker cover the film in a musky atmosphere, giving tight rows in the office an isolating texture. Choking Malair and Coline's relationship into darkness,Deferre closes in with tightly held shots unveiling Malair's growing dominance in Coline's strange affair.