Genealogies of a Crime
| Genealogies of a Crime | |
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| Directed by | Raúl Ruiz |
| Produced by | Paulo Branco |
| Written by | Raúl Ruiz Pascal Bonitzer |
| Starring |
Catherine Deneuve Michel Piccoli Melvil Poupaud Andrzej Seweryn Bernadette Lafont |
| Distributed by | Strand Releasing (USA) |
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Release date
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Running time
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114 minutes (France) 113 minutes (Argentina) 103 minutes (USA) |
| Country | France Portugal |
| Language | French |
| Budget | $3,700,000 |
| Box office | $1,237,126 $76,763 (USA) |
Genealogies of a Crime (French: Généalogies d'un crime, Portuguese: Genealogias de um Crime) is a 1997 French-Portuguese film directed by Raúl Ruiz. It was entered into the 47th Berlin International Film Festival where it won the Silver Bear for an outstanding artistic contribution. Despite being released in 1997 (1998 in the United States), the film was not released on DVD until 2005. Since, it has been included in multiple DVD anthologies of Ruiz’s works.
During a stormy night, René (Melvil Poupaud) disposes of a knife, which is picked up by an unrevealed individual. The scene fades to a blank Go board and the narrator describes an ancient Chinese fable concerning a young man who kills a woman of the Liu Bao family, only to be killed after falling in love with her ghost.
Presumably later, Solange (Catherine Deneuve) is questioned by a lawyer. She begins recounting how she took on René’s case: Immediately after the death of her son, Pascal, Solange receives a call from her colleague Mathieu. Mathieu informs her that René is accused of murdering Jeanne (also played by Denueve), his aunt and a member of the “Franco-Belgian Psychoanalytic Society” which René blames for the murder. Solange agrees, and at her son’s funeral she is introduced to Georges Didier (Michel Piccoli); the eccentric head of the Franco-Belgian Psychoanalytic Society. Georges’ behavior is immediately apparent as unusual, he is quick to anger and relies on a notebook to remember other people’s names. Later, Solange meets René, who claims to want to be her friend and convinces her to play a game involving role-reversal. During the game, Solange reveals that she is known for taking on hopeless cases, and has lost every single one. Solange travels to Jeanne’s former home and is accommodated by Esther (Bernadette Lafon), Jeanne’s former maid. Solange begins reading Jeanne’s diary and the film transitions to René’s adolescence.
From the onset, Jeanne notes that René displays “criminal” behavior. As a young child René exhibits violent and unusual behavior: he destroys several pieces of China and develops a fascination with knives. In his later years, Jeanne notes that he acts normal, but still has destructive tendencies and is possibly a kleptomaniac. Jeanne attempts to treat René by utilizing the role-reversal game he had played with Solange earlier in the film. Through the game, Jeanne learns that René has hidden all the items he has stolen around the estate. At some point in his young adulthood, René leaves the estate, and contacts Jeanne when he needs money. On a day when Jeanne is meeting with her colleague Georges, René asks Jeanne for money and she refuses. During her meeting, René is seen in the background, running from a crowd presumably after attempting to steal something. While this occurs, Jeanne is introduced to Christian Corrail ( Andrzej Seweryn), a fellow psychoanalyst and Georges’ personal nemesis. Four months before her murder, Jeanne catches Rene stealing her furniture with his friends. They engage in the same role-reversal game they’ve played several times before, and Jeanne in her anger shoots René in the arm, at which point René insists the game is over. That event is the last entry in her diary.
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