Das Netz der tausend Augen

Want to see a movie that leaves you uneasy, paranoid, makes you question the reality you're presented with? Scared to go out and scared to stay in? But at all cost, distracts you from mundane reality? This is one film that does that. Forget movies that rely on lavish helpings of gore and blood, gratuitous violence, habitual screaming and endless repetition of expletives. That's not scary any more. It was only ever shocking, really, and nowadays people seem to have become used to that. No, this is a French film. No clichéd devices such as explosions of discordant noise to startle you when you least expect it. Instead, something excruciatingly sinister somehow manages to silently creep out from this film, like a miasma. A chilling, clammy, atmosphere that's reinforced by subtle but compelling acting and directing. Did you hear a noise just then . . .?

I've seen this film only a few times over the years as an adult, but I was still left disturbed by it each time. I didn't exactly 'have to leave the light on' when I went to bed afterwards. But, let's say, it left a permanent impression on me. It's the way it's executed, you see. I'm too macho to admit to anything more. For connoisseurs of effective films of this genre, this is a must for the collection. You'll end up looking over your shoulder after seeing this film. Unless, of course, they come for you too . . . .

Abolish the machine!

The classic slogan that still works.

A Deleuezian concept on machine and its surveillance emerges at final seconds. We've upgraded it to a so called matrix. This slow paced drama is about nothing and everything. Timeless and placeless story. Still works. Great performances and a heart catching score by maestro Morricone.

A melancholic journey to deep desperation.

Low key but very well written drama, about a strange man (Trintignant) who is pretending to be pursued by the police and the army, because he knows a very dangerous secret. He met a couple (Jobert and always wonderful Noiret) and hide at their home. Noiret thinks that the man is very kind and decides to help him to go to Spain, where he will be safe. But the press tells that this man is a very dangerous psycho killer. The woman begins to have doubts about the man. This is a very seventies movie, with sometimes a lack of direction, but it's sure an intelligent movie. Spectators will know the famous secret at the very end of the movie. And it's a very surprising finale. By the way, whatever happen to the lovely Marlene Jobert?

The presence in the cast of Jean-Louis Trintignant, Philippe Noiret and Marlene Jobert should be enough to make 'Le secret', Roberto Enrico's 1974 film a memorable one. And yet this is an almost completely forgotten film. This seems completely incomprehensible to me, especially since besides the name and the acting of the three famous actors this is a film with many qualities, a psychological thriller of the best quality reminiscent of Hitchcock's films - compact, well written, with solidly built characters that cannot be easily forgotten. In addition, it is a very actual film. If it had been made today, it would undoubtedly have been characterised as a political thriller.

This film also finds me in a very rare moment of disagreement with the opinions of my favorite film critic, Roger Ebert, who saw the film and wrote about it shortly after its release. Come on, Roger, one star out of four? Too predictable? The story of the film revolves around the mystery of the identity of David, the hero played by Trintignant, who escaped from an nightmarish institution that can be a psychiatric asylum for dangerous lunatics but can also be a prison where those who oppose the political regime are deprived of liberty and tortured or perhaps those who unintentionally found out a secret dangerous for state security are harshly interrogated to find out how much they know. Is David a dangerous psychotic killer, a paranoiac conspiracy theorist, or an innocent man trapped in a Kafkaesque situation? There is a solution to this dilemma and an explanation of the situation of the hero, which we learn practically in the last scene and the upheavals of situations and perceptions happen permanently. The relationship between the fugitive and the couple of intellectuals (he is a writer, she is an artist) could be a classic triangle consisting of an escapee and a hostage pair, but it is much more, because the characters are nuanced, the man and the woman each have their reasons for acting the way they do, and the interpretations of Philippe Noiret and Marlene Jobert are profound and create empathy. The pace at which the plot unfolds is perhaps slower than fans of action movies would expect, but there are enough moments of tension, both events-wise and psychological.

I recommend the viewing to those who have the opportunity to watch or re-watch 'Le secret'. The pleasure of seeing together the trio of formidable actors will be combined with the encounter with a well-written film, with a remarkable soundtrack signed by Ennio Morricone, which finds a perfect place among the good achievements of French cinema of the '70s.

"Le secret" was overshadowed by Robert Enrico's blockbuster "Le Vieux Fusil" released the following year.I have always thought that that movie -also featuring Noiret-was largely overrated.

"Le Secret" is a different matter:it's a return to mystery,irrational,and madness ,tendencies Enrico had displayed in his first(and best)work "Au Coeur de La Vie" (1963).It is far from being as stunning though.It's too long.In its first part,the story drags on and on.Fifteen minutes could have been easily edited out,the story would not have suffered for it.

It was the time of paranoia in political movies.In the wake of "Conversation" and "The parallax view" lots of FRench directors jumped on the bandwagon.There was Jacques Deray and "Un Papillon sur l'Epaule" ;Yves Boisset and "Espion Lève-toi" ;Jean-Claude Tramont and "Le Point de Mire" ;and Robert Enrico and "Le Secret" .All those films deal with a huge conspiracy which may or may not exist.

Enrico 's movies has good assets :his three leads are adequate ;a disturbing prologue (and a symmetrical epilogue);and characters who change : in the last third,we are not sure that Trintignant's paranoia or would be mythomania has not corrupted his "normal" companions.

The military intervention complete with paratroopers and tanks is a bit too much but it adds to the offbeat atmosphere of the film and it reminds us of Enrico's anti-militarism (already obvious in "La Belle Vie" (1964)).

"Le Secret" is a flawed but interesting work.