The Color of Lies (1999)
"Au coeur du mensonge" (original title)

In a small Breton town, a 10-year-old girl is found murdered. René, her art teacher, a professional painter, is the last person to have seen her alive. The inspector in charge of the ... See full summary »

Director:

Claude Chabrol

Writers:

Odile Barski, Claude Chabrol

Stars:

Sandrine Bonnaire, Jacques Gamblin, Antoine de Caunes

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sandrine Bonnaire	...	Vivianne Sterne
Jacques Gamblin	...	René Sterne
Antoine de Caunes	...	Germain-Roland Desmot (as Antoine De Caunes)
Valeria Bruni Tedeschi	...	Frédérique Lesage
Bernard Verley	...	Inspecteur Loudun
Bulle Ogier	...	Évelyne Bordier
Pierre Martot	...	Regis Marchal
Noël Simsolo	...	Monsieur Bordier
Rodolphe Pauly	...	Victor
Adrienne Pauly	...	Anna
Véronique Volta	...	Betty
Sylvie Flepp	...	Madame Lemoine
Florent Gibassier	...	Joël Sarne
Thomas Chabrol	...	Le médecin légiste
Wendy Malpeli	...	Eloïse Michel

Storyline

In a small Breton town, a 10-year-old girl is found murdered. René, her art teacher, a professional painter, is the last person to have seen her alive. The inspector in charge of the investigation immediately questions him. In this small provincial town where people all know each other and regularly meet at the Bar des Amis, René is increasingly unsettled by the other inhabitants' suspicions and by the inspector's investigation. Children stop coming to him for lessons. His wife, Viviane, a district nurse, protects him and supports him with her love. However, a self-centred media-star writer adds to René's confusion...

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Plot Keywords:

suspicion | painter | art teacher | nurse | answering machine | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

13 January 1999 (France)

Also Known As:

The Color of Lies

Filming Locations:

Le Grand Porcon, Saint-Méloir-des-Ondes, Ille-et-Vilaine, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Canal+, France 3 Cinéma, MK2 Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Color (Fujicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

User Reviews

Life in society is possible if based on lies.

The hypothesis of Chabrol: that life in society is only possible if it is based on lies, in the film, is a total lie! Also, it's interesting that the narrator at the actual time of these problems: pedophilia, unemployment, female cops (on television), was neurotic. It seems contrived in many situations: the infidelity of Vivianne (the nude painting of her), the assassin (the photo that was found in the assassin's bag).