Les Cousins (1959) Les cousins (original title)

Director:

Claude Chabrol

Writers:

Claude Chabrol (scenario)
Paul Gégauff (dialogue)

Release Date:

23 November 1959 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Charles is a young provincial coming up to Paris to study law. He shares his cousin Paul's flat. Paul is a kind of decadent boy...

Plot Keywords:

Party | Exam | Law School | Book Reading | Apartment

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Gérard Blain	...	Charles
Jean-Claude Brialy	...	Paul
Juliette Mayniel	...	Florence
Guy Decomble	...	Bookseller
Geneviève Cluny	...	Geneviève
Michèle Méritz	...	Yvonne
Corrado Guarducci	...	Italian Count Minerva
Stéphane Audran	...	Françoise
Paul Bisciglia	...	Marc
Jeanne Pérez	...	Cleaning lady
Françoise Vatel	...	Martine
André Chanal
Gilbert Edard
Clara Gansard
Jean-Louis Maury	...	Un joueur de bridge
Virginie Vitry
Jean-Marie Arnoux
Robert Barre
Michel Benoist
Gaby Blondé
Chantal Bouchon
Catherine Candida
Jacques Deschamps
Abdou Filali
Yann Groël
André Jocelyn	...	Garçon au champagne
Jacques Kemp
Jean-Pierre Moulin	...	Philippe
Sabine Moussali
Christian Pezey
Emmanuel Pierson
Jacques Ralf
Taty Rocca
Colette Teissèdre
Jean-Paul Thomas
Simone Vannier
Anne Zamire
Claude Cerval	...	Clovis Dalbecque
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
László Szabó
Sophie Grimaldi	...	Fille aux Champs-Elysées (uncredited)

Directed by
Claude Chabrol

Writing credits
Claude Chabrol		(scenario)
Paul Gégauff		(dialogue)

Produced by
Claude Chabrol	....	producer

Original Music by
Paul Misraki

Cinematography by
Henri Decaë

Film Editing by
Jacques Gaillard

Production Design by
Bernard Evein
Jacques Saulnier

Set Decoration by
Bernard Evein
Jacques Saulnier

Makeup Department
Irène Charitonoff	....	makeup artist
Lucette Deuss	....	assistant makeup artist

Production Management
Jean Cotet	....	production manager
Jean Lavie	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Philippe de Broca	....	assistant director
Olga Waren	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Georges Glon	....	assistant set decorator
Raymond Lemoigne	....	property master

Sound Department
Maurice Dagonneau	....	boom operator
Jean Labussière	....	sound recordist
Jean-Claude Marchetti	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Pierre Ginet	....	first assistant camera
Alain Levent	....	second assistant camera
Jean Rabier	....	camera operator

Editorial Department
Gisèle Chézeau	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Georges Derveaux	....	conductor

Other crew
André Labussière	....	exterior production
Roland Nonin	....	production administrator
Jacqueline Parey	....	script girl

Production Companies

• Ajym Films (in association with)
• Société Française du Cinéma pour la Jeunesse

Distributors

• Les Films Marceau (1959) (France) (theatrical)
• Films Around the World (I) (1959) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Bavaria-Filmkunst Verleih (1959) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Arthaus Filmverleih (2013) (Germany) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2011) (USA) (DVD)
• Eureka Entertainment (2013) (UK) (DVD)
• Eureka Entertainment (2013) (UK) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Interama Video (USA)

Also Known As:

"Les cousins" - France (original title)
"The Cousins" - USA (literal English title)

Runtime:

112 min | Canada:103 min | Spain:103 min | West Germany:108 min (Berlin Film Festival) | Argentina:107 min

Country:

France

Language:

French | German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | Argentina:16 | UK:12 | West Germany:18 (f) | France:U | USA:Not Rated | Germany:12 (re-rating)

Filming Locations:

Boulevard Saint-Germain, Paris 6, Paris, France

Company:

Ajym Films

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Good Time Girls (1960)

Soundtrack:

La chevauchée des Walkyries (extrait de La Walkyrie)

THE COUSINS (Claude Chabrol, 1959) ***

This is more akin to the recognizable style of the "Nouvelle Vague" (with one of the characteristics being an unduly harsh quality to the cinematography, typically a prerogative of the film noir genre) than Chabrol's previous (and first) film, HANDSOME SERGE (1958).

Interestingly, while it features the same two leads – Gerard Blain and Jean-Claude Brialy – their roles are practically reversed (with the former now ingenuous and the latter world-weary), and set this time around in Paris rather than the provinces. Incidentally, the film forms a trilogy of sorts with Chabrol's other tales of amoral youth, all stemming from the vitriolic pen of the ill-fated Paul Gegauff i.e. LES BONNES FEMMES (1960) and WISE GUYS (1961).

Unfortunately, I did not watch this in the most congenial atmosphere – being a recording off French TV with subtitles in that language (it is odd that such an essential piece in both the director's canon and the influential "New Wave" filmography seems to be otherwise unavailable!). Anyway, having sensed a nod to Fellini in Chabrol's THE CHAMPAGNE MURDERS (1967), I can see definite links with this earlier effort (especially Brialy interrupting a wild party at his flat with a candle-lit recital of an epic German poem) – and which actually predates a similar occurrence in LA DOLCE VITA (1960) itself!

The film is also notable for being Stephane Audran's first collaboration (out of a total of 23!) with Chabrol; though her role is secondary, and a sluttish one at that, the actress – with hair dyed blonde – manages to make an impression nevertheless (she obviously did on her director, since they would eventually be married until 1980). Actually, the leading lady here is doe-eyed Juliette Mayniel (soon to play an unwilling donor in Georges Franju's EYES WITHOUT A FACE [1960] – ironically, one of several distinguished native directors dismissed as archaic by Godard et al), not an actress usually attached to the "New Wave" movement but who acquits herself exceedingly well under the circumstances.

Other characters within the narrative include yet another ambiguous and, in this case, much older live-in figure (who also acts as a bad influence on the heroine) and a librarian harboring almost paternal feelings for Blain. The film's abrupt tragic ending, casually treated by the director and deemed pointless by some, would seem to be suggesting that the bustle of city life spells the death of innocence (especially for someone not attuned to its grinding pace).

P.S. With this, I concluded my nearly two-month tribute to the octogenarian French master that included 27 films (all of them being first viewings!) and I regret not having had more time to revisit some of his other work – particularly A' DOUBLE TOUR (1959), LES BONNES FEMMES, TEN DAYS WONDER (1971) and INNOCENTS WITH DIRTY HANDS (1975)! For the record, I intend to pursue a similar retrospective for Jean-Luc Godard, who will himself turn 80 next December…