CAST

Philippe Benoit MAGIMEL
Senta Laura SMET
Christine Aurore CLEMENT
Gérard Bernard LE COQ
Sophie Solene BOUTON
Patricia Anna MIHALCEA
The Tramp Michel DUCHAUSSOY
Mme Crespin Suzanne FLON
Jacky Eric SEIGNE
Nadeau Pierre-Francois DUMENIAUD
Le capitaine Philippe DUCLOS
Lieutenant Laval Thomas CHABROL
Senta's Mother Isolde BARTH
Pablo Mazen KIWAN

MUSIC Matthieu CHABROL
ORCHESTRA UNDER THE BATON OF Laurent PETITGIRARD
CINEMATOGRAPHY Eduardo SERRA (Afc-Asc)
EDITING Monique FARDOULIS
SOUND Pierre LENOIR, Thierry LEBON
SET DESIGN Françoise BENOÎT-FRESCO
ASSISTANT DESIGNER Catherine PIERRAT
COSTUMES Mic CHEMINAL
STAGE MANAGER Thierry MAGNIEZ
CONTINUITY Aurore CHABROL
ASSISTANT-DIRECTOR Cécile MAISTRE
PRODUCTION DIRECTORMichel JULLIEN
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Patrick GODEAU
PRODUCERS Patrick GODEAU, Antonio PASSALIA &
Alfred HÜRMER

A franco-German coproduction Aliceleo
Canal Diffusion, France 2 Cinema
Integral Film, in association with COFIMAGE 15
and the support of la région des Pays de Loire and the Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication (CNC)
and
the participation of Filmfernsehfond Bayern,
of Filmförderungsanstalt, of Titania Produzioni et Janus International and of CANAL+ et CINECINEMA

1H50 - DTS DIGITAL - 35 MM - COULOR -
FORMAT : 1.66

If, like Japan, France could nominate its artists as "national living treasures," Claude Chabrol would surely be among the first filmmakers so honored. In a career that spans almost fifty years, Chabrol has meticulously exposed the darker, seamy underside of the well-ordered world of the French middle class.

Once again adapting a novel by Ruth Rendell (whose A Judgment in Stone became La Céremonie) Chabrol tells the story of Philippe Tardieu (Benoît Magimel), an ambitious, somewhat straitlaced young man living with his mother and two sisters near the Atlantic coast. His older sister, Sophie, is getting married, and it’s at her wedding that Philippe meets Senta, one of the bridesmaids.

Their attraction is obvious, and soon they get together, but the more time he spends with her, the more he begins to wonder about her.
Their passion is real, but Senta seems given to telling fantastic tales. When one day she asks Philippe for a terrible proof of his love, Philippe must come to terms with who his lover might really be. Senta is played by Laura Smet, who was so impressive in Xavier Giannoli’s Eager Bodies (ND/NF 2004); she is also, incidentally, the daughter of Nathalie Baye and Johnny Hallyday.