Themes: Faltering Friendships, Twentysomething Life, Love Triangles
Main Cast: Gérard Blain, Jean-Claude Brialy, Juliette Mayniel, Claude Cerval, Geneviève Cluny
Release Year: 1959
Country: FR
Run Time: 112 minutes
Plot
This was the first of several films that would win international awards for French New Wave director Claude Chabrol. His aloof, innovative approach to the simple story says as much as the plot itself in which two cousins symbolize polar opposites. Charles (Gerard Blain ) is the cousin from the provinces with "bourgeois" values. His steadfast determination unfortunately does not help him pass exams or at first, succeed with women. Paul (Jean-Claude Brialy) is the urbane, rather debauched and decadent cousin who appears to conquer all. Appearances can be deceiving as they soon discover when Charles falls for Paul's friend Florence (Juliette Mayniel) -- and tragedy waits in the wings. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
Review
Most tales of the "city mouse, country mouse" variety tend to be rather lighthearted, but Les Cousins takes a darker view of the situation, resulting in a fascinating, mesmerizing, bleak film, the comedy of which is distinctly black. In director/writer Claude Chabrol's tale, the simple virtues of "good" cousin Charles cannot compete with the decadent force of will the "bad" cousin Paul. In Charles' eyes, it is all unfair, yet Chabrol doesn't see it that way. There isn't really fair or unfair, or perhaps it's more correct to say that determining fair and unfair requires a more complex way of looking at things than is normally assumed. Moral ambiguity and guilt are Chabrol's stock in trade here, and he layers the story with them in a most affecting manner. The result is a cruel film, but its brutality has an honesty to it. One cannot warm to Paul, whose arrogance and sadism keep him at a distance. But Charles never quite captures one's heart either, despite his role as the victim. Chabrol contrasts them in a complicated pas de deux that brings them vividly to life. He's aided immeasurably by Gerard Blain and Jean-Claude Brialy's letter-perfect performances, as ell as by an equally effective on from Juliette Mayniel. Some will find Cousins difficult to watch, especially the orgy sequence with its Nazi ending. But those who can stick with it will be amply rewarded. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Les Cousins is a 1959French New Wavedrama film directed by Claude Chabrol. It tells the story of two cousins, the decadent Paul and the naive Charles. Charles falls in love with Florence, one of Paul's friends.
Handsome Serge (1958) ·The Cousins (1959) ·À double tour (1959)
1960s
The Good Time Girls (1960) ·Wise Guys (1961) ·The Third Lover (1962) ·Bluebeard (1963) ·Ophélia (1963) ·The Tiger Likes Fresh Meat (1964) ·Marie-Chantal vs. Doctor Kha (1965) ·An Orchid for the Tiger (1965) ·Line of Demarcation (1966) ·The Champagne Murders (1967) ·The Road to Corinth (1967) ·The Does (1968) ·The Unfaithful Wife (1969) ·This Man Must Die (1969)
1970s
The Butcher (1970) ·The Break Up (1970) ·Just Before Nightfall (1971) ·Ten Days Wonder (1971) ·Dr. Popaul (1972) ·Wedding in Blood (1973) ·The Nada Gang (1974) ·A Piece of Pleasure (1975) ·Innocents with Dirty Hands (1975) ·Death Rite (1976) ·The Twist (1976) ·Alice or the Last Escapade (1977) ·Blood Relatives (1978) ·Violette Nozière (1978)
Quiet Days in Clichy (1990) ·Dr. M (1990) ·Madame Bovary (1991) ·Betty (1992) ·The Eye of Vichy (1993) ·Hell (1994) ·A Judgement in Stone (1995) ·The Swindle (1997) ·At the Heart of the Lie (1999)
