L'ivresse du pouvoir (2006)

A magistrate investigates a corporate executive.

Director:

Claude Chabrol

Writers:

Odile Barski, Claude Chabrol

Stars:

Isabelle Huppert, François Berléand, Patrick Bruel

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Isabelle Huppert	...	Jeanne Charmant-Killman
François Berléand	...	Michel Humeau
Patrick Bruel	...	Jacques Sibaud
Marilyne Canto	...	Erika
Robin Renucci	...	Philippe Charmant-Killman
Thomas Chabrol	...	Félix
Jean-François Balmer	...	Boldi
Pierre Vernier	...	Président Martino
Jacques Boudet	...	Descarts
Philippe Duclos	...	Jean-Baptiste Holéo
Roger Dumas	...	René Lange
John Arnold	...	Homme jaguar #1
Jean-Christophe Bouvet	...	Me Parlebas
Jacques Bouanich	...	Le gardien de la prison
Benoît Charpentier	...	Journaliste économique

Storyline

A character study. Jeanne Charmant-Killman is an investigative magistrate, tough minded, swift moving, taking on a group of political fixers who pay bribes and skim large sums for personal use. She breaks them one at a time. Meanwhile, her work takes its toll: relations with her husband are strained, and the group under investigation strikes back by tampering with the brakes of her car and placing a mole in her office. Can she stand up to the pressure, and what's her reward?

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Plot Keywords:

investigation | car crash | gloves | cell phone | nephew | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Pan-Européenne [fr]

Country:

France Germany

Language:

French

Release Date:

22 February 2006 (France)

Also Known As:

The Comedy of Power

Filming Locations:

Hôpital, Le Vésinet, Yvelines, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$10,061 (USA) (5 January 2007)

Gross:

$78,917 (USA) (23 March 2007)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alicéléo, France 2 Cinéma, A.J.O.Z. Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Four Chabrols worked on the film: Director and co-writer Claude Chabrol, his screenplay-supervisor wife Aurore Chabrol, and his two sons: composer Matthieu Chabrol and actor Thomas Chabrol.

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Soundtracks

"Peer Gynt"
Composed by Edvard Grieg (1875)

User Reviews

Unforgettable.

Claude Chabrol return to his form with this masterpiece. I saw it at the Berlinale and the battle for tickets was worth it. Chabrol directs his actors in a very subtle way; it is not the main plot points that arouse your emotion, but small moments in the game between Charmant Killman and her opponents. Although all opponents are deeply bad people, Chabrol succeeds in giving them "things" that make them human beings and recognizable characters. Including all supporting and even one-line-characters. Watch Killmans Bodyguards, for example. Watch how Chabrol begins and ends scenes - very unusual. Watch the juxtaposition of Killmans life as a judge and her private life. I won't say much about the film itself, as it is good to know nothing about it before. It's a wise film, "La Piovra" in a cinema version (and much shorter), dealing with a topic that is most important in our western industrial countries - silent corruption. Most times the corruption theme in films bores, but Chabrol and Huppert make it a joy.