The Judge and the Assassin

The Judge and the Assassin (French: Le Juge et l'assassin) is a 1976 French drama film directed by Bertrand Tavernier that stars Philippe Noiret, Isabelle Huppert, Michel Galabru, and Jean-Claude Brialy. Set in France in the 1890s, it shows the capture after a trail of rapes and murders of a possibly deranged ex-soldier, based on the historical Joseph Vacher, and how he is befriended by an ambitious judge who leads him into incriminating himself. The film won two César Awards in 1977.

The Judge and the Assassin
Video tape cover
Directed byBertrand Tavernier
Written byJean Aurenche
Pierre Bost
Bertrand Tavernier
Produced byRaymond Danon
StarringPhilippe Noiret
Michel Galabru
CinematographyPierre-William Glenn
Edited byArmand Psenny
Music byPhilippe Sarde
Distributed byLibra Films (United States)
Release date
10 March 1976
Running time
128 minutes
CountryFrance
LanguageFrench
Box office$6.9 million[1]

Plot

Ex-sergeant Bouvier, expelled from the army for fits of violence, shoots at Louise when she rejects him and then puts his last two bullets in his own head. The pair survive, and he is shut away in an asylum. Rejecting civil society on his release, he wanders the countryside raping and murdering isolated teenage children. His crimes are followed closely by Rousseau, a provincial judge, and when Bouvier enters his jurisdiction he is arrested. Pretending to be his friend who will get him off on a plea of insanity, Rousseau humours his whims and encourages him to incriminate himself. In fact, Rousseau is seeking personal glory and career advancement. When Bouvier is condemned, Rousseau's working-class mistress Rose joins the strikers in the town factory. A postscript notes that hundreds more children died in factories than Bouvier's few highly-publicised victims.

Selected cast

See also

References


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