Pierre Kast,a former critic of the famous (or notorious ,depending on whom you ask) "cahiers du cinema" ,located his first effort "la morte saison des amours in the Royal Saltworks , "vacances portugaises" in Portugal , " un animal doué de déraison"in Brazil ,and one of his most accessible films "les soleils de l'île de Pâques ".....On Easter Island of course !
Portugal again in "le grain de sable" ;the director uses sometimes the same (desirable )house as in "vacances portugaises" ;do not let the hint at the cold war ,the east and the west fool you; it's some kind of murder mystery in which the characters want to do away with each other ; looks like a cluedo in which the superintendent of course fails and it's the young civil servant with good prospects who plays the part of Sherlock or Hercule.
Kast's directing is sluggish and it's the actors who make the movie palatable: Pierre Brasseur ,one of the best French actors of all time, adds black humor and vivdness with gusto ;Lili Palmer is the distinguished elegant woman who plays her game well ;on the other hand , cerebral actor Laurent Terzieff ,one of the most gifted actors of his generation, seems ill-at-ease in that context , mainly opposite serie B statuesque Sylva Koscina ; It's probably ,though , Kast's most accessible work and it won't get you a headache for once.
