La Vérité (film)
| The Truth (La Vérité) | |
|---|---|
Film poster
|
|
| Directed by | Henri-Georges Clouzot |
| Produced by | Raoul Lévy |
| Written by | Henri-Georges Clouzot Véra Clouzot Simone Drieu Jérôme Géronimi Michèle Perrein Christiane Rochefort |
| Starring |
Brigitte Bardot Charles Vanel Paul Meurisse |
| Cinematography | Armand Thirard |
| Edited by | Albert Jurgenson |
|
Production
company |
C. E. I. A. P.
Han Productions Ina Production |
| Distributed by | Kingsley-International Pictures (US) |
|
Release date
|
|
|
Running time
|
130 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
| Box office | 5,694,993 admissions (France) |
The Truth (French: La Vérité) is a 1960 French film directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot and starring Brigitte Bardot. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Dominique Marceau is a young Frenchwoman on trial for killing her lover, Gilbert.
The prosecuting attorney, Eparvier, claims it was an act of premeditated murder that warrants the death penalty. The defense attorney, Guérin, maintains that it was an act of passion and not punishable by death.
During the course of the trial, we see the events that led up to the crime. Dominque's parents let her move to Paris after she tried to kill herself when they initially refused. She had been living on the Paris Left Bank with her violinist sister Anne, partying and sleeping with men.
She meets Gilbert, her sister's boyfriend, a music student. Dominique seduces Gilbert and he falls for her and proposed but she turns him down. They live together for a time but Dominique struggles with domesticity and Gilbert is constantly worried she will cheat on him. Eventually they break up.
Over time Dominique becomes a prostitute while Gilbert becomes a famous conductor. Gilbert and Anne become engaged. Dominique realises that Gilbert was the only man she ever loved and they sleep together. However he kicks her out the next day.
She tries to kill herself to prove her love but when he mocks her she shoots him. She then attempts suicide but is found and rescued by the police.
At the end of the trial, Dominique realises the jury is unconvinced that her love for Gilbert was real. She returns to her prison cell and slashes her wrists with a piece of broken mirror.
Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean-Pierre Cassel and Jean Louis Trintignant were all considered for the lead role - Trintignant was Bardot's choice - before Clouzot decided to go with Sami Frey.
Philippe Leroy-Beaulieu, one of the male leads, was fired during shooting. Leroy-Beaulieu then sued the producer for damages of 300,000 francs. Charrier had a nervous breakdown and was hospitalised for two months. Vera Clouzot had a nervous breakdown in July. In August Clouzot had a heart attack and filming was suspended for a week. Also Bardot's secretary of four years sold secrets about her to the press.
...
Wikipedia