A chacun son enfer

The film starts, the credits roll, Annie Girardots face fills the screen and the music begins. From the very first sequence on, the film is as wonderfully atmospheric as a French criminal story of the 70s can be. Every detail perfectly fits in this disturbing story of, basically, a woman's suffering. She suffers in the face of a horrible crime and it's even more horrible solution. Girardot is a brilliant, utterly convincing actress. Her performance alone is worth all cost and search for this rare gem. On the one hand, not a film to set you in good mood; and there's no relaxing finale, anyway. But, on the other hand, a highly tense story and technically a lesson on how crime flicks used to be made with respect to narration, thrill and atmosphere. Note: A few striking similarities may be found in the much later "The Clearing".