Masques (1987)

Roland Wolf wants to write a book about a TV game-show host, the hail-fellow-well-met Christian Legagneur, who invites Wolf to his country estate, promising several days of lengthy ... See full summary »

Director:

Claude Chabrol

Writers:

Odile Barski, Claude Chabrol

Stars:

Philippe Noiret, Robin Renucci, Bernadette Lafont

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Philippe Noiret	...	Christian Legagneur
Robin Renucci	...	Roland Wolf
Bernadette Lafont	...	La masseuse / The masseuse
Monique Chaumette	...	Colette, la secrétaire / The secretary
Anne Brochet	...	Catherine
Roger Dumas	...	Manu
Pierre-François Dumeniaud	...	Max
Pierre Nougaro	...	Gustave
Renée Dennsy	...	Émilie
Yvonne Décade	...	Antoinette
Blanche Ariel	...	Rosette
René Marjac	...	Maurice
Paul Vally	...	Henry
Denise Pezzani	...	Mme Lemonier
Pierre Hisch	...	M. Loury

Storyline

Roland Wolf wants to write a book about a TV game-show host, the hail-fellow-well-met Christian Legagneur, who invites Wolf to his country estate, promising several days of lengthy interviews. But Legagneur's laughter and easy intimacy are empty of content for a book, and he's constantly dashing off, promising Wolf more time later. Wolf seems to have his own mask: he's brought a gun with him, and he's curious about a woman who was a recent guest at the estate. There's also Legagneur's godchild, Catherine, recovering from mental illness, and hovered over by Legagneur and his secretary. As Wolf digs through desks, he discovers a murderous plot. Can he now outfox his host?

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Taglines:

France's master of stylish and witty suspense presents his delightfully dark and hauntingly humorous game of cat and mouse

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime

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Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

11 February 1987 (France)

Also Known As:

Masks

Filming Locations:

Senlis, Oise, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Films A2, MK2 Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

(at around 30 mins) In the scene with Catherine sitting outside in the garden, the camera is reflected in her sunglasses.

User Reviews

Where does Chabrol find them ... ?

I have to hand it to Claude Chabrol. He certainly has an eye for casting his leading ladies. For 'Masques', here we have Anne Brochet in her first feature film. From the moment we first lay eyes on her, she comes over both mysterious and enigmatic. Chabrol cleverly does not allow us to see her eyes -- she is wearing sun glasses due to still convalescing from a past medical condition. When her eyes are finally revealed, we indeed see Chabrol's casting astuteness. Oh-La-La ... such wonderful peepers. Brochet is very reminiscent of Emmanuelle Béart here.

This is one of the more conventional mystery/thrillers from Chabrol. Essentially a detective story of Roland, who's sister has disappeared in mysterious circumstances. His investigations lead him to her last known whereabouts -- the country home of game show host Christian Legagneur. Roland poses as a journalist under the pretext of interviewing Legagneur for a book. Here he meets, and falls in love with, Legagneur's god daughter Catherine. Is it she who holds the key to the disappearance of Roland's sister? Watch the film to find out.

'Masques' is probably not one of Chabrol's finest but interesting none the less. Certainly worth a look for both Anne Brochet as the child like Catherine and Philippe Noiret's wonderfully over the top performance as the game show host. As in all Chabrol films, people are never quite what they seem. Unfortanately, the villain of the piece is revealed a tad too early in this one. To be fair tho, Chabrol does salvage the film in the final act.

Full of the usual fair of fine food .. fine wine .. and a few cigars smoked. Worth a look.

zzzz..