Cop au Vin (1985)

When a small town begins losing its citizenry in a series of grisly murders, out-of-town police inspector Jean Lavardin (Jean Poiret) is sent to investigate. Could the killers be a bullied ... See full summary »

Director:

Claude Chabrol

Writers:

Dominique Roulet (novel), Dominique Roulet (adaptation)

Stars:

Jean Poiret, Stéphane Audran, Michel Bouquet

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jean Poiret	...	Inspecteur Jean Lavardin
Stéphane Audran	...	Madame Cuno
Michel Bouquet	...	Hubert Lavoisier
Jean Topart	...	Docteur Philippe Morasseau
Lucas Belvaux	...	Louis Cuno
Pauline Lafont	...	Henriette
Andrée Tainsy	...	Marthe
Jean-Claude Bouillaud	...	Gérard Filiol
Jacques Frantz	...	Alexandre Duteil
Albert Dray	...	André, le barman
Henri Attal	...	L'employé de la morgue
Marcel Guy	...	Le maître d'hôtel
Dominique Zardi	...	Henri Rieutord, chef de poste
Jean-Marie Arnoux	...	Le client du café
Caroline Cellier	...	Anna Foscarie

Storyline

When a small town begins losing its citizenry in a series of grisly murders, out-of-town police inspector Jean Lavardin (Jean Poiret) is sent to investigate. Could the killers be a bullied son (Lucas Belvaux) and his cruel mother (Stephane Audran) who run the local post office? Or a pushy trio of would-be land developers?

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Plot Keywords:

small town | sick mother | murder disguised as accident | postman | car damage | 

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Genres:

Crime | Mystery

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

10 April 1985 (France)

Also Known As:

Cop au Vin

Filming Locations:

Forges-les-Eaux, Seine-Maritime, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

MK2 Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Stéphane Audran, who stars in this film as Madame Cuno, also appeared in the Inspecteur Lavardin TV series: Les dossiers secrets de l'inspecteur Lavardin: L'escargot noir (1988), where she played as a completely different character named Catherine.

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Connections

Followed by Inspecteur Lavardin (1986)

User Reviews

Certainly no disgrace

An early scene in "Cop au Vin" (or "Poulet au vinaigre") features a petulant Mommy's boy, a domineering mother and a cellar. Sound familiar? However, this is Chabrol and not Hitchcock though you may say that's the next best thing. "Cop au Vin" may not be in the front rank of Chabrol movies but this excellent account of typically well-heeled Chabrolians doing nasty things to each other will do very nicely indeed.

Naturally Stephane Audran is here; she's the domineering mother, this time confined to a wheelchair, and about to be evicted from her home by those nasty rich people. Lucas Belvaux is the petulant son and others in the cast include the wonderful Michel Bouquet, Jean Topart, Pauline Lafont and Jean Poiret as the very unorthodox inspector brought in to investigate a couple of mysterious deaths. There may not be anything profoundly engaging or even particularly memorable about the picture but it remains a highly enjoyable thriller and is certainly no disgrace to the names of either Chabrol or his mentor, Mr Hitchcock.