La dénonciation

'La denonciation' ('The Denunciation', a title terribly translated into English as 'The Immoral Moment') begins and ends with two scenes taking place on the streets of Paris. I will not tell anything about their content, because it is a 'noir' thriller, but I think I can say that they could stylistically belong to any of the classic and typical films of the French 'New Wave'. No wonder, because the year of production is 1962 and the film is written and directed by Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, one of those multilateral filmmakers (director, screenwriter, actor, critic) and co-founder in 1951 of 'Cahiers du Cinema '. So this is an 'author's film'. We find in it many of the characteristics of the films of the director's colleagues of generation, but also some samples of obsolete cinema and exploration of directions that did not have much success in what followed in French cinema. It is an interesting film, which passes the exam of time honorably, with good chances to interest not only moviegoers passionate about the history of the 'New Wave'.

The story is original and has some elements of ambiguity, moral and historical dilemmas that overlap with the complex political realities of France in the early '60s. The main character is a film producer, well placed in the society of Paris, the son-in-law of a minister, a man belonging to the honorable social circles based on his past as a hero of the Resistance during the German occupation. His past however also hides a trauma that influences his behavior when he is a random witness to a crime, and that causes him to behave strangely during the investigation and the events that follow, even if his social position puts him above any suspicion. The merit of the script is to sketch interesting characters and to describe truthfully the conflicts between the various sectors in a France that was experiencing successive crises and a violent political polarization. In the film, as in the historical reality of the time, the boundaries between ideological conflicts and violent activism, between the political class and the underworld are often blurred.

'La denonciation' belongs to the period of transition to color movies, a period in which the use of black and white film was more and more an aesthetic decision, adopted here as in many other films of the 'New Wave'. A decision well suited for the atmosphere of 'film noir' with hints of political thriller, which takes place mostly in the world of Parisian cabarets with their music and strip shows, in bourgeois houses, art galleries, screening halls, police stations and especially on the streets of Paris that always look good in movies. The lead role is played by Maurice Ronet, a well-known actor at the time, who manages to accurately portray the turmoil and hesitation of the character. The police commissioner who seems always close to secrets without being able to decipher them is played by Sacha Pitoëff, a talented actor with an interesting physiognomy. Françoise Brion and Nicole Berger create two well-defined key female roles. The main problem of the film are the dialogues, too conventional and too theatrical in relation to the situations and the psychology of the characters, and especially the excess of off-screen commentary. I generally dislike off-screen voice because I believe that film is mostly a visual art, and not even the fact that the text of the original version is read by Laurent Terzieff, another well-known actor of that film period, famous for his voice and diction, can help. The dissonance between dialogues and texts on the one hand and the visual qualities of the film is obvious. I think it would be an interesting experience if someone dared to make a version of this film from which the off-screen comments are taken. We would get, I think, a good 'film noir', more ambiguous and therefore more modern, anticipating the political thrillers and very good movies that Jean-Pierre Melville would make a few years later.

Doniol-Volcroze was one of the young Turks of the nouvelle vague as well as the eminence grise of "les cahiers du cinema" where Truffaut ,Godard and al cut their teeth .His career was not as famous as theirs and most of his works fell into oblivion with the exception of "la maison des Bories" (1970) which anyway was not "nouvelle vague" at all.

Directing of "La denonciation" ,on the other hand,seems dated today : loose screenplay,weak female characters ,abuse of voice-over ;this abuse is all the more irritating as Maurice Ronet is as good as ever .One of the best thespians of the era (particularly for Malle :"ascenseur pour l'échafaud" and "le feu follet"),he makes these continuous frames of mind redundant.

And the screenplay ,however,was very interesting.Probably influenced by Borges's "theme of the traitor and hero",it features the symmetry dear to the writer.During WW2,when he was a resistant,Ronet's character gave his companions away to the gestapo.During the questioning,a young French teacher acted as interpreter for the German officer and him.After the war,he was regarded as a hero and when he was confronted to the young collaborator,the latter said nothing about what he knew of the resistant's betrayal.But the man could never get over this unbearable memory.And history repeated itself:he was the eyewitness of a murder and he had to denounce somebody again.But his memories came back to haunt him and he did not know what to do.

The movie remains very ambiguous and brings out responsibility without taking sides.The hero's behavior is eminently questionable ,and Ronet is up to scratch for what is a very perilous portrayal.