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L'ivresse du pouvoir

  • 2006
  • Tous publics
  • 1h 50m
IMDb RATING
6.3/10
3.2K
YOUR RATING
L'ivresse du pouvoir (2006)
Drama

A magistrate investigates a corporate executive.A magistrate investigates a corporate executive.A magistrate investigates a corporate executive.

  • Director
    • Claude Chabrol
  • Writers
    • Claude Chabrol
    • Odile Barski
  • Stars
    • Isabelle Huppert
    • François Berléand
    • Patrick Bruel
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.3/10
    3.2K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Claude Chabrol
    • Writers
      • Claude Chabrol
      • Odile Barski
    • Stars
      • Isabelle Huppert
      • François Berléand
      • Patrick Bruel
    • 23User reviews
    • 75Critic reviews
    • 64Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 7 nominations total

    Photos8

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    Top cast42

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    Isabelle Huppert
    Isabelle Huppert
    • Jeanne Charmant-Killman
    François Berléand
    François Berléand
    • Michel Humeau
    Patrick Bruel
    Patrick Bruel
    • Jacques Sibaud
    Marilyne Canto
    Marilyne Canto
    • Erika
    Robin Renucci
    Robin Renucci
    • Philippe Charmant-Killman
    Thomas Chabrol
    Thomas Chabrol
    • Félix
    Jean-François Balmer
    Jean-François Balmer
    • Boldi
    Pierre Vernier
    Pierre Vernier
    • Président Martino
    Jacques Boudet
    Jacques Boudet
    • Descarts
    Philippe Duclos
    Philippe Duclos
    • Jean-Baptiste Holéo
    Roger Dumas
    Roger Dumas
    • René Lange
    John Arnold
    • Homme jaguar #1
    Jean-Christophe Bouvet
    Jean-Christophe Bouvet
    • Me Parlebas
    Jacques Bouanich
    • Le gardien de la prison
    Benoît Charpentier
    • Journaliste économique
    Laurence Colussi
    • Secrétaire ascenseur
    Dominique Daguier
    • Inconnu #2
    Stéphane Debac
    Stéphane Debac
    • Flic trentenaire #1
    • Director
      • Claude Chabrol
    • Writers
      • Claude Chabrol
      • Odile Barski
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews23

    6.33.1K
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    10

    Featured reviews

    8Maciste_Brother

    Dry. Very dry but very good!

    L'IVRESSE DU POUVOIR, which was oddly re-titled as A COMEDY OF POWER for the North American market (I saw it under LUST FOR POWER on cable), is a very good French flick about corruption in the government and a magistrate's attempts to bring the bad guys to justice. The magistrate is played by the sublime Isabelle Huppert. One could say that the film can viewed as some sort of black comedy about how controlling the corrupting qualities of power is ultimately futile. The film is played straight. There are no big Hollywood moments in it which for many will turn off most viewers. The film can be described as dry. Very dry. There are no mushy sentimental moments. No sex. No violence. Very little swearing. The dramatics are very low key. Heck, the music is almost non-existing. The direction is so minimalistic that it creates a tension of sorts in that I expected the director to shock us with something really bad just waiting to happen at any moment and ready to derail the whole controlled tone of the film.

    The dialogue is spoken quickly and even though I understand French, the subtitles were good in keeping track with the rapid fire exchanges.

    Aside from the assured direction, the main reason to watch L'IVRESSE DU POUVOIR is Isabelle Huppert's laser sharp performance. She's so good and direct, not a wasted moment or emotion in her entire performance. It's something to behold. Watching the petite woman, with her red gloves and purse, corralling all these corrupt folks, is unforgettable and it's what remains in your head days after seeing the film.

    A very satisfying movie that's a nice change from the usually over-the-top approach most films take these days.
    6michel-crolais

    The implication of examining magistrate in corrupt business.

    An examining magistrate, Jeanne Charmant Killman, has been charged to investigate a very delicate affair touching political and industrial circles. She puts in examination Humeau, the president of a very large French consortium, which works on foreign affairs. The judge pushes the president and many others personalities in order to clarify all the traffic implications of the affair. She will be bound to numerous influences and his life will be put into danger, also his family life. The film is centred both on large traffics and corruption, which exist on international business, and also on powers (sometimes too big) that exist for examining magistrate. Isabelle Huppert very well acts the movie, but it seams to me that it is not a very great Chabrol's movie.
    8claudio_carvalho

    Unfortunately a Fictional Judge

    In Paris, the obstinate and tough judge Jeanne Charmant-Killman (Isabelle Hupert) investigates a corrupt and powerful corporation that is embezzling public funds, and its president Michel Humeau (François Berléand) is arrested and sent to prison. She uses the hearing to collect evidence against the board and lobbyists, and sends one by one to prison. Meanwhile the group sabotages the brakes and the steering wheel of her car forcing her to have the protection of two bodyguards. Then they use a promotion to try to persuade her to stop her work, moving her to a bigger office expecting competition and friction with the also competent and honest judge Eryka (Marilyne Canto) but they become close friends, focusing the same objective. Meanwhile her personal life is affected/ and she breaks off with her husband. When her husband apparently jumps off his apartment, Jeanne has to come up with a decision.

    "L'Ivresse du Pouvoir" is another great movie of Claude Chabrol with a plot that recalls the style of Costa-Gravas. The story is extremely realistic about corrupt corporations involved in embezzling public money and a judge that becomes obsessed in sending the responsible to prison and make a difference in the corrupt justice system. All the cast has stunning performances, but the awesome Isabelle Hupert has another top- notch performance contrasting her fragility with the strength of her character that unfortunately is a fictional judge. My vote is eight.

    Title (Brazil): "Comédia do Poder" ("Comedy of the Power")

    Npte: On 15 January 2025, I saw this film again.
    7Buddy-51

    flawed but worthwhile

    In November 2003, after a sensational trial that rocked the Republic of France for four scandal-soaked months, three key executives of that country's ELF oil company were found guilty of massive corporate malfeasance on a scale not seen in Europe since the turbulent days of World War II. The graft, money laundering, and granting of political favors for which these men were convicted extended into the upper reaches of the government as well, so the scandal served a concomitant salutary purpose of finally laying bare that nation's long-established practice of state-sponsored corruption.

    "Comedy of Power" is famed director Claude Chabrol's very fictionalized take on the ELF scandal. Yet, while most of the names and many of the details have been changed or even fabricated for the movie, the themes and concerns are obviously very much in keeping with the spirit of the actual event. The always mesmerizing Isabelle Huppert plays a no-nonsense judge who is unrelenting in her pursuit of corporate corruption, obsessed with bringing the culprits - no matter their position or standing in the community - to justice. Refusing to buckle under to pressure from (equally corrupt) higher-ups who believe she is going too far in her investigations, Judge Jeanne Charmant-Killman zeroes in on her "victims," refusing to let go until she gets what she wants. Chabrol and Huppert together create a woman of conviction and strength who, nevertheless, knows her limitations and can even acknowledge what a strain her single-minded determination is placing on her personal life and marriage (whether or not she chooses to do anything about it is another matter).

    It's true that "Comedy of Power" feels a little underdeveloped at times, and the somewhat inconclusive and lackadaisical ending may well leave some in the audience feeling dissatisfied and cheated. For while there is a certain bravery in not succumbing to the need for a pat resolution, the movie leaves us wanting to know more about how everything turns out in the end. Yet, despite this drawback, this is an interesting, and, at times, even gripping little drama that gives us a chance to watch a beautiful, dynamic actress in action. It is Huppert's multi-layered portrayal of a moral crusader who is also very much a flawed and vulnerable human being that rivets our attention and helps us wade through all the arcane trivia of the corporate-world plotting. Chabrol keeps the film moving at an expeditious pace, with a tasty mixture of both humor and suspense thrown in for good measure. But it is in the confrontation scenes between Huppert and her various high profile targets that the film truly engages our attention.

    In addition to Huppert, Chabrol has elicited uniformly sharp performances from Francois Berleand, Patrick Bruel, Marilyne Canto, Robin Renucci and Thomas Chabrol (the son of Chabrol and the great actress Stephane Audran). As an ensemble, these gifted performers bring the larger issues into focus while keeping us thoroughly engrossed and entertained at the same time.
    10tarone586

    Unforgettable.

    Claude Chabrol return to his form with this masterpiece. I saw it at the Berlinale and the battle for tickets was worth it. Chabrol directs his actors in a very subtle way; it is not the main plot points that arouse your emotion, but small moments in the game between Charmant Killman and her opponents. Although all opponents are deeply bad people, Chabrol succeeds in giving them "things" that make them human beings and recognizable characters. Including all supporting and even one-line-characters. Watch Killmans Bodyguards, for example. Watch how Chabrol begins and ends scenes - very unusual. Watch the juxtaposition of Killmans life as a judge and her private life. I won't say much about the film itself, as it is good to know nothing about it before. It's a wise film, "La Piovra" in a cinema version (and much shorter), dealing with a topic that is most important in our western industrial countries - silent corruption. Most times the corruption theme in films bores, but Chabrol and Huppert make it a joy.

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    Related interests

    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama

    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      The scenario is based on a true story, the "Affaire Elf" political and financial scandal in France.
    • Soundtracks
      Peer Gynt
      Composed by Edvard Grieg (1875)

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 22, 2006 (France)
    • Countries of origin
      • France
      • Germany
    • Official site
      • Pan-Européenne (France)
    • Language
      • French
    • Also known as
      • La comédie du pouvoir
    • Filming locations
      • Hôpital, Le Vésinet, Yvelines, France
    • Production companies
      • Alicéléo
      • France 2 Cinéma
      • A.J.O.Z. Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $80,550
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $10,061
      • Jan 7, 2007
    • Gross worldwide
      • $8,987,781
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 50m(110 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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