This film caused controversy when it came out and at the time of its release in 1954 the sexuality as well as the violence must have shocked. Time alters the impact of what we see on the screen, and now in my opinion it is nothing more than a well directed melodrama. A woman Therese ( from perhaps Paris, but that maybe conjecture ) played well by Giselle Pascal, marries a man from the south of France, and goes to live with him there. The film opens with his death from falling from a cliff. A flashback shows him to be a violent man. Alone in the house with his brother played by Raymond Pellegrin and a young woman who is a servant, tensions rise, and it is clear that Pellegrin's desire for Therese is somewhat alleviated by the servant's desire for him. Then the now underrated actor Philippe Lemaire appears on the scene. An army man he appears to be on the run, and adopting the false name of Pierre shelters in the house because of a wound in a fight. Therese and he fall in love ( tender but passionately shown ) and escape the house, but his recapture alters everything and Therese returns. End of spoilers. A tangled web of obsessions drives the film to its conclusion, and yes the film is abusive towards women, but pales in comparison to the sufferings and deaths of women on the screen and television today. To sum up I found it very watchable, and the acting is much better than it is given credit for. In my opinion Giselle Pascal gives a refined and rather tragic performance and so does Philippe Lemaire in his role. It has never been released on DVD outside of France to my knowledge, and the UK on its cinema release gave it an X certificate for viewers over sixteen. A ' lost ' film ( even in France ) it is somewhat hard to find, and it is worth finding for the acting alone.
