Two of France's finest actors go toe-to-toe in this cool crime drama set in the snowy hills of rural farm country. Alain Delon is the investigating judge assigned to the case of a woman murdered and left by the side of a road near a farmhouse known as "The Burned Barns." (An investigating judge is not the objective arbiter of justice in a courtroom but the official who guides the police in the criminal investigation.)
Simone Signoret is Rose, the matriarch of the farming family, an indomitable woman who quietly but firmly steers the lives of her children, their spouses, and even her husband. Her two sons, the restless, frustrated Paul (Bernard Le Coq) and the older, more responsible Louis (Pierre Rousseau), have alibis confirmed by Rose, but the judge suspects that they are more involved than the family is willing to let on.
What follows is less a murder mystery procedural than a battle of wills between the driven judge, an urban man out of his element in the small mountain community, and the steely mother determined to protect her family at all costs. Their dramatic sparring sustains the film, a perfectly satisfactory drama that is more interesting as a study of a family keeping its roiling conflicts and resentments hidden from outsiders than as a mystery.
The obsession that the judge betrays in his focus on the family, which casts a sustained shadow on them in the community even as he fails to uncover evidence to support his suspicions, goes frustratingly unexplored.
It also costars Miou Miou, then a rising star, in a supporting role as the rebellious wife of Paul, and features a score by pioneering electronic musician and composer Jean-Michel Jarre, an unusual choice that adds to the atmosphere of disconnection and suspicion.
The film makes its American home video debut in a new 4K restoration, with an interesting 26-minute interview featurette on the troubles behind the cameras of this production. Both the film and featurette are in French with English subtitles.
What kind of film collection would this title be suitable for?
Fans of British and European TV mysteries and procedurals would appreciate this drama, especially for its portrayal of an urban, tough-minded investigator in a remote rural town, and for its snow-covered mountain community setting.
What public library shelves would this title be on?
This would make a fine addition to a collection of international crime dramas and classics, in part because of the star power of the two leads.
What academic library shelves would this title be on?
The presence of two of France's most esteemed actors makes this a good addition to any collection of French cinema for both filmmaking and theater studies.