Nada (1974)

A group of anarchist leftist called "Nada" and led by the terrorist Buenaventura Diaz abducts the American ambassador Richard Poindexter in a brothel in Paris and brings him to a farm in ... See full summary »

Director:

Claude Chabrol

Writers:

Claude Chabrol (screenplay), Antonietta Malzieri (screenplay)

Stars:

Fabio Testi, Maurice Garrel, Lou Castel

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Fabio Testi	...	Buenaventura Diaz
Michel Duchaussoy	...	Marcel Treuffais
Maurice Garrel	...	André Épaulard
Michel Aumont	...	Goemond
Lou Castel	...	D'Arey
Didier Kaminka	...	Meyer
André Falcon	...	Le ministre / The Minister
François Perrot
Lyle Joyce	...	Richard Poindexter
Viviane Romance	...	Madame Gabrielle
Mariangela Melato	...	Veronique Cash
Henri Attal
Jean-Marie Arnoux
George Birt
François Cadet

Storyline

A group of anarchist leftist called "Nada" and led by the terrorist Buenaventura Diaz abducts the American ambassador Richard Poindexter in a brothel in Paris and brings him to a farm in the countryside. The French Minister gives a blank cheque to the violent chief of police Goemond that is assigned to destroy the kidnappers. Then the Minister makes him the scapegoat of the messy situation to protect the State.

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Plot Keywords:

impotency | political manipulation | terrorist | american ambassador | police | 

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Taglines:

They Were All Rotten to the Core!

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Genres:

Thriller

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The film is based on the novel "Nada", by Jean-Patrick Manchette. In fact, while the gang members are discussing the plan in Treuffais' apartment, Díaz notes that the brothel the ambassador should be at is located between Kleber Avenue and Manchette Street. That is a screenwriters' funny idea. In the novel, there is not any Manchette Street, obviously.

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Goofs

During the kidnapping sequence, there is a photograph upstairs, behind a window, in a building just across the street. He takes a photo from the top and the picture resulting of this shot and watched by the police some days later shows a scene from the street level.

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Quotes

Buenaventura Diaz: Shit! Long live death!

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Connections

Featured in The Son of Gascogne (1995)

User Reviews

The slump begins here

"Nada" was the most inadequate follow-up to "Les NOces Rouges" which,with hindsight,appears now as the last good movie of Chabrol's golden era (1967-1973) "Nada" is Chabrol's first real attempt at a wholly political movie;his previous work "les Noces Rouges" had also political elements but it was more a psychological thriller with the usual look at society in French provinces."Nada" includes terrorists,ambassador,hostage-taking,a lot of blood,not really Chabrol's field.A heterogeneous cast gives the movie the coup de grâce :only Duchaussoy,who had already played with the director ,and Maurice Garrel are up to scratch.Viviane Romance ,one of Duvivier's actresses ("la Belle Equipe" "Panique") ,is wasted as a madam (Gabrielle).Italian actors (Fabio Testi,Lou Castel)are awful.

With "Nada" this a second period of barren inspiration for Chabrol .It would be "Violette Nozières" before he was again at the top of his game.

Details

Country:

France Italy

Language:

French

Release Date:

6 February 1974 (France)

Also Known As:

Exterminação Grupo Zero

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Italian International Film, Les Films de la Boétie, Verona Produzione

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1