23 January 2022

Jean-Jacques Beineix's La Lune dans le caniveau | The Moon in the Gutter (1983)

As this was available for viewing and Beineix died just ten days ago, I thought it appropriate to watch this, which I discover is one of only six non-documentary feaures that he made. It certainly does have much of the cinéma du look about it, although I'm not sure about the 'triumph of style over content' slur that people used to make: this is addictively watchable, and not just because of the presence of the main stars.

The sister of Gérard Delmas (Gérard Depardieu) has been raped and kills herself as a result, and Gérard determines to find out who did it. Gérard is a docker living in a slum with his father and his partner Bella (Victoria Abril), although as he's on his search Loretta (Nastassja Kinski) rolls up in her flash sports car and takes a distinct liking to him: it's probably the macho working-class difference which appeals to this rich young woman, but Gérard only seems to have a passing interest. His main interest is tracing the killer of his sister Catherine.

The whole atmosphere of the film is bathed is dreams or nightmares, but although Gérard survives Bella's hitmen employed to kill him when he decides to leave and she thinks he's being unfaithful to her, by the end of the film he's still no closer to finding the murderer.

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