The Salamander (1971)

Two men, arty though somewhat staid, are drawn to the spirited and quixotic Rosemonde, a young working-class woman whom they meet because they're writing a teleplay about a minor but ... See full summary »

Director:

Alain Tanner

Writers:

John Berger, Alain Tanner

Stars:

Bulle Ogier, Jean-Luc Bideau, Jacques Denis

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bulle Ogier	...	Rosemonde
Jean-Luc Bideau	...	Pierre
Jacques Denis	...	Paul
Véronique Alain	...	Suzanne
Daniel Stuffel	...	Le patron du magasin de chaussures
Marblum Jequier	...	Lydie - la femme de Paul (as Marblum Jéquier)
Marcel Vidal	...	L'oncle de Rosemonde
Dominique Catton	...	Roger
Violette Fleury	...	La mère du patron du magasin de chaussures
Mista Préchac	...	La mère de Rosemonde
Pierre Walker	...	L'inspecteur de la Régie
Janine Christoffe	...	Catherine - une amie de Pierre
Guillaume Chenevière	...	L'inspecteur de police
Claudine Berthet	...	Zoé - la dactylo
Michel Viala	...	Le patron peintre en bâtiment

Storyline

Two men, arty though somewhat staid, are drawn to the spirited and quixotic Rosemonde, a young working-class woman whom they meet because they're writing a teleplay about a minor but curious event in which either her uncle was wounded while cleaning his rifle or she shot him. Pierre is a free-lance journalist hired to write the script; he's short of time so he asks a Bohemian novelist friend, Paul, to help. Pierre wants facts and tracks down Rosemonde for interviews that lead to other explorations; Paul only wants to imagine her and needs little more than her name to do so. But he does meet her, and she entangles him, too. Did she cause the shooting? Is she venomous or innocent?

---

Plot Keywords:

writing | journalist | feminism | tram | journalism | 

---

Taglines:

Savage. Seductive. Sincere. Sweet. Swinging.

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama

---

Details

Country:

Switzerland France

Language:

French

Release Date:

27 October 1971 (France)

Also Known As:

The Salamander

Filming Locations:

Geneva, Canton de Genève, Switzerland

Company Credits

Production Co:

Filmograph S.A., Forum Films, Group 5

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

French visa # 38815.

---

Quotes

La narratrice: A silent majority is made up of people like you and me, with arms and legs but who from time to time, in the secrecy of a voting booth, vote for prigs and scoundrels.

---

Connections

Remade as Fourbi (1996)

User Reviews

Wonderful film

I have seen only two other films by Tanner, Le Milieu du monde and Jonas..., but I can say that he is one of my favorite directors. This episodic, fascinating work was written by Tanner and John Berger, the left-wing art critic, and it attacks the mania for finding tidy explanations for deviant behavior: if a man cleans his gun and it goes off, wounding him, is it an accident or foul play? If the man's daughter is a strange, half-educated rural girl, should either Pierre or Paul start sleeping with her? What are the employment prospects of a girl who can't fill a plastic casing with sausage out of a machine, and who listens to heavy rock as though there's a message from the cosmos in it?

I fell into the rhythm of this picture very easily. Its critique of life in bourgeois Switzerland is sharp--the visit from the inspector of "civil decency" is very funny. Both Jean-Luc Bideau and Jacques Denis are very good as the two sheepish city guys, and Bulle Ogier always holds your attention as the unsophisticated Rosemonde who just wants to have fun.