L'engrenage

The plot thickens when a second man is accused of rape by grandson Lucas ;the treatment of the policemen is less considerate towards him ;he's not a mayor, soon to be a senator.

For the first time in his life, the unfortunate grandpa experiments the extreme humiliation of jail ;One can feel his agony,his despair ,when he's alone in his cell; one should note that he's supported by everyone, from his city council to the other inmates ,and he can pay the best of lawyers -the actor has a tendency to overact : the lawyer is par excellence today's hero-, what Mister Man on the street can't afford ;it really takes all Auteuil's peerless talent to make us feel for this man who is torn apart by his beloved grandson's accusation ; one feels that his affection is worth all the ambitions in the world.

One should note that the only insults come from the political opponents; the gossips, in a town , run rampant even among the populace though .

The father's attitude is even more selfish,inconsiderate and mindless : he did not heed the schoolteacher's call in the first episode, and he puts his son in a boarding-school, not a smart move for a child who is deeply disturbed and where his young mates know the score.("he's f..... by his grandfather")

The final sequence ,in which grandpa and sonny sail on a sea (which represents the lost paradise) displays Chabrol's influence ("que la bête meure" ).