Détective (1985)

In a palace of Paris. Two detectives are investigating a two-year-old murder. Emile and Francoise Chenal are putting pressure on Jim Fox Warner, a boxing manager, who owes them a huge ... See full summary »

Director:

Jean-Luc Godard

Writers:

Alain Sarde (screenplay), Philippe Setbon (screenplay)

Stars:

Laurent Terzieff, Aurelle Doazan, Jean-Pierre Léaud

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Laurent Terzieff	...	William Prospero
Aurelle Doazan	...	Arielle
Jean-Pierre Léaud	...	Inspector Neveu
Nathalie Baye	...	Françoise Chenal
Claude Brasseur	...	Emile Chenal
Johnny Hallyday	...	Jim Fox Warner
Alain Cuny	...	Old Mafioso
Xavier Saint-Macary	...	Accountant
Pierre Bertin	...	Young Son
Alexandra Garijo	...	Young Daughter
Stéphane Ferrara	...	Tiger Jones
Emmanuelle Seigner	...	Princess of the Bahamas
Eugène Berthier	...	Old manager
Julie Delpy	...	Wise young girl
Cyrille Dajinckourt	...	La fille

Storyline

In a palace of Paris. Two detectives are investigating a two-year-old murder. Emile and Francoise Chenal are putting pressure on Jim Fox Warner, a boxing manager, who owes them a huge amount of money. But Jim also owes money to the Mafia, and it seems the boxing match he is counting on to bail out will not be sufficient...

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Plot Keywords:

topless female nudity | female nudity | money | murder | mafia | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

France Switzerland

Language:

French English Italian

Release Date:

23 August 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Detective

Filming Locations:

Hôtel Concorde Saint-Lazare, Paris 8, Paris, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

JLG Films,Sara Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jean-Luc Godard dedicated the film to John Cassavetes, Edgar G. Ulmer and Clint Eastwood.

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Quotes

Old Mafioso: We're not in one of those little French films, where the actors believe talking is thinking.

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Connections

Referenced in Crazy Moon (1987)

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Soundtracks

(Uncredited song)
Music by Arthur Honegger (as Honegger)
(music title uncredited)

User Reviews

Not worth it

This film demonstrates editing, structure and mis-en-scene perfectly. It's clear that with every scene, Godard has thought carefully about positioning and in a few shots, has cleverly manipulated the use of mirrors or glass. The camera never moves in the film – it stays still in every sequence, and so the positioning of the characters is paramount. Instead of the camera moving to capture all the characters on screen, many scenes involve the characters moving themselves after an entrance of a another person to ensure that facial expressions can be seen. Music also plays a huge part in this film, as it indicates moments of tension, or importance, such as when the audience sees 'la famille' for the first time in the film. Background noise is also evident, with many layers of sound to the film, such as background traffic noise from the open window, as well as the piano player in the café. The scenes themselves and the cleverness from behind the camera make this film worth watching. However, the plot itself is weak, with many superfluous characters, and bizarre situations (such as the boxer and 'Mister Jim' with the two girls). The many different characters and their individual situations are closely linked, through their interaction with each other, but the ending is immensely unsatisfactory.