Hécate (1982)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Daniel Schmid

Writers:

Paul Morand (novel)
Pascal Jardin (adaptation) ...

Release Date:

24 September 1982 (France)

Plot Keywords:

Based On Novel

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Bernard Giraudeau	...	Julien Rochelle
Lauren Hutton	...	Clothilde de Watteville
Jean Bouise	...	Vaudable, consul de France
Jean-Pierre Kalfon	...	Massard
Gérard Desarthe	...	Le colonel de Watteville
Juliette Brac	...	Miss Henry
Patrick Thursfield	...	L'Anglais
Suzanne Thau	...	La tenancière du bordel
Raja Reinking	...	La fille du bar
Mustapha Tsouli	...	Ibrahim
Teco Celio	...	Le capitaine Berta
René Marc	...	Le ministre
Ernst Stiefel	...	Le capitaine russe
Victor Reinking
Rose-Marie Schneider

Also Known As:

Hécate, maîtresse de la nuit (France)

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

France | Switzerland

Language:

French | German

Certification:

France:-12

Company:

T&C Film AG

Lauren Hutton!

Daniel Schmid,the director of "Hécate, Maîtresse De la Nuit",died 3 days ago.

This movie lacks more sexuality;its psychology is entirely conventional and ready-made.Still,"Hecate" is not without certain merits (as the directing is also average,still not without ideas).Several things make this flick worth watching :(1)the sexually stunning Lauren Hutton;(2)Morand's world.Some of the lines uttered by the characters are fine,as Morand was,of course,better than most of the usual scriptwriters.There is,also,a certain detachment,that answers Morand's succinct style.(Much of this movie's undeniable charm is of a literary nature.)The many flaws of this movie are obvious,no need to discuss them.The script deserved a better treatment.None the less,Hécate, Maîtresse De la Nuit is an interesting exercise,and,somehow,even a waste of beauty.

I didn't like Giraudeau,who does an extremely bad acting here and is an obvious miscast.He strives to give the movie a fake intensity,all inadequate.The right direction here would be towards some comic-strips quality of the acting;but Giraudeau goes from overacting to somnambulism;a very annoying actor,indeed.I think he is the big responsible for spoiling the movie;Giraudeau was a tremendous miscast.

Ridiculous preciosity,but also a certain instinct for epic liquidity;no skill,still a good detachment that makes the movie work.I know it is not a (really) good movie;but it works.It manages to be interesting despite not being good.This is pretentious and average cinema.But it gets your sympathy.

A certain slowness and absent-mindedness of the somnambulist Giraudeau (towards the end of this movie) remind,sometimes,of "India Song".

"Hecate" is an interesting average movie.