Cop au Vin
| Cop au Vin | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Claude Chabrol |
| Written by | Claude Chabrol Dominique Roulet |
| Produced by | Marin Karmitz |
| Starring | Jean Poiret |
| Cinematography | Jean Rabier |
| Edited by | Monique Fardoulis |
Release date |
|
Running time | 119 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
| Box office | $5.7 million[1] |
Cop au Vin (Template:Lang-fr) is a 1985 French crime film directed by Claude Chabrol. It was entered into the 1985 Cannes Film Festival.[2] The original French title is a pun: it literally means "vinegar chicken," but "poulet" is also French slang for "cop." Chabrol made a sequel in 1986 titled Inspecteur Lavardin.
Plot
In a small town in Normandy, Louis Cuno, a young postman, and his disabled and eccentric mother are repeatedly harassed by three local notables: the notary Lavoisier, the doctor Morasseau, and the butcher Filiol. They want the Cunos to sell them their house because it stands in the way of a lucrative real estate deal.
When Louis unintentionally causes the death of Filiol in a car accident, Inspector Jean Lavardin arrives to investigate. His unorthodox detective methods enable him to solve a series of mysterious deaths and disappearances that are the result of the real estate scheming.
Cast
- Jean Poiret as Inspecteur Jean Lavardin
- Stéphane Audran as Madame Cuno
- Michel Bouquet as Hubert Lavoisier
- Jean Topart as Docteur Philippe Morasseau
- Lucas Belvaux as Louis Cuno
- Pauline Lafont as Henriette
- Caroline Cellier as Anna Foscarie
- Andrée Tainsy as Marthe
- Jean-Claude Bouillaud as Gérard Filiol
- Jacques Frantz as Alexandre Duteil
- Josephine Chaplin as Delphine Morasseau
- Albert Dray as André, le barman
- Henri Attal as L'employé de la morgue
- Marcel Guy as Le maître d'hôtel
- Dominique Zardi as Henri Rieutord, chef de poste
- Jean-Marie Arnoux as Le client du café
Reception
Jonathan Rosenbaum in Chicago Reader said "it wasn't a masterpiece, but at the very least it was a well-crafted and satisfying entertainment" that had "sex, violence, dark wit, a superb sense of both the corruption and meanness of life in the French provinces, a good whodunit plot, Balzacian characters... and very nice camera work by Jean Rabier."[3] Time Out remarked "it is all done with the skittishness which Chabrol brings to this kind of policier, but given edge by his very mocking eye."[4] Variety said "the plotting here wouldn’t pass muster on an episode of PBS’ “Mystery!,” but there’s pleasure to be had in veteran thesp Jean Poiret’s soaked-in-vinegar turn as Lavardin, a gimlet-eyed sleuth with a violent streak that surfaces unexpectedly, yet always at just the right moments."[5]
Sequels
Chabrol directed a sequel, Inspecteur Lavardin, in 1986. It was followed by a four-part TV series, Les Dossiers de l'inspecteur Lavardin (1989-1990), also starring Jean Poiret.
References
- ^ "Poulet au vinaigre (1985)- JPBox-Office". Retrieved 17 January 2016.
- ^ "Festival de Cannes: Chicken with Vinegar". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 28 June 2009.
- ^ Rosenbaum, Jonathan (25 May 1989). "French Provincial". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Cop au Vin 1984, directed by Claude Chabrol | Film review". Time Out London. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
- ^ Chang, Justin (17 December 2006). "Claude Chabrol's Tales of Deceit". Variety. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
External links
- Cop au Vin at IMDb