Docteur Petiot

When I was a child,I often heard my parents talk about the sinister docteur Petiot.It was widely talked about ,and this docteur Petiot,whom I knew through the tales my folks used to tell in the evening,was some kind of fairytale ogre.I must say I never scared my own children with those horrible stories of my childhood.

It took half a century to be brought to the screen.Christian de Challonges,who had already tackled fantasy successfully -"l'alliance"(1970),which remains unfairly overlooked today- and much less so with the overrated "malevil"(1980)which already featured MIchel Serrault.

But,I hear you say ,docteur Petiot is a true story and you are talking about fantasy genre.Simply because Challonges 's treatment is close to fantasy ,nay horror movie.It' s no coincidence if the movie in the movie which opens the work recalls Murnau and his Nosferatu.The settings,the make-ups -Serrault himself is sometimes unrecognizable-,the huge mansion where the killer keeps his loot,which he steals from the Jews he does away with,after promising them a "better world" ,which is not a lie after all,are strongly influenced by German expressionism ,not a bad choice.A recurrent picture is particularly stunning:Petiot riding his bike,his black cloak flowing in the dark,looks like a vampire .In a nutshell,"docteur¨Petiot" is a gruesome farce ,because a very black humor is always present:the news film ,in the movie theater ,speaks about Petiot as the biggest killer of the 20th century,and however,there were people who were working on a much larger scale at the time.

That said,the scenes do not always hang well together as the script is not always satisfying,but this is minor quibble:"docteur Petiot" is a movie I recommend along with contemporary Claude Chabrol's "une affaire de femmes" ,which,although more conventional ,is another good example of war profiteers.What's fascinating is that the two heroes (Serrault as Petiot and Huppert as a backstreet abortionist-do believe they are completely innocent and that they helped people all in all.Both were guillotined.

From the opening sequence in a cinema when Dr Petiot (the extraordinary Michel Serrault) seethes with indignation at the puny evil portrayed by a Nosferatu-like character on-screen and then enters the action (a la Purple Rose of Cairo), you know this is an unusual movie experience. The story is strongly based on the real Petiot, a deranged but extremely clever, even witty, physician who preyed on desperate people fleeing the Holocaust and enriched himself in the process, then escaped arrest and built a new career as a French army doctor. When, finally, the real Petiot was brought to trial, he became an instant celebrity and the event a true cause celebre. This movie was something of a labour of love for Serrault and at a time when Roberto Benigni's La Vita e Bella is causing a sensation, this sleeper should become far better known.

I saw this film when it was released in the UK, and it's one of the most memorable I've seen (and I've seen thousands!) It has a tone all its own, and features probably Michel Serrault's greatest performance. I can still see him going about his grisly business to the accompaniment of tango music. We had our own, more recent version of Petiot in Dr. Harold Shipman, who ushered many of his old patients into the next world. As with Petiot, you got the impression that it wasn't so much greed as the enjoyment of killing and getting away with it that motivated him. People will always be fascinated by such cases: it's a sad fact that evil is more interesting than good. The film is obviously best enjoyed on the big screen, but Richard Maddock and anyone else who wants to see it on DVD with English subtitles should e-mail Movie Detective, based in Seattle. Their DVDs are all regions, and they have enabled me to see so many rare films which are unavailable elsewhere. This one isn't on their site, but is available by e-mail.

DOCTEUR PETIOT, starring Michel Serrault, is a brutal story about a brutal man. A doctor who heals the sick in occupied France, even if their ability to compensate is not there. Yet, he preys on the weakest amidst the populace. The imagery and cinematography are superb, and lend an additional macabre feeling to this complex story. He is the perfect psychopath. Seductive and altruistic, intelligent and caring, calculating and murderous. A movie certain not to be forgotten soon by the viewer. Kudos to Mr. Serrault, for his chilling portrayal.

This is easily a 9. Michel Serrault, known more for comic roles in the earlier part of his acting career, does a stunning, even worryingly stunning job of impersonating Dr Petiot, a legendary French serial killer.

He is just so believable at every and any moment in the film, that the actor completely disappears behind the character - only the very best ever achieve this feat, and when they do it is only in a handful of parts at best.

The whole story (a real story which happened in 20th century France) is so powerful, so sinister - it makes for a very strong film that one remembers for a long, long time.