Name: Inconnue de la départementale
Genre: Mystery
Released: 2006-02-11
Duration: 1 h 30 min
Rating: 6.5
Cast: Alexis Michalik, Anne Malraux, Nathalie Nell

Very good movie about the supernatural, fetish love and wise mothers,

I got gripped by this quite original film from the start. The plot is well crafted, acting is fine, the tempo, relentless. I did feel fear and connected with the characters, unlike many movies considered "better ones".

Nathalie Nell is Maud Levreau, the heart and brains of the story. She is not perfect, but comes really close. She holds the "threads of the cobweb", like when she's the only one that realizes that Sylvianne is the key to her son's healing, or the way she communicates with her future daughter-in-law, unlike her husband, who only attacks in a straightforward way, thus getting nothing.

Anne Malraux as the suffering daughter "Sylvianne" is the image of a victim. Beautiful (as it should be in the genre) but also clumsy and limited in her awareness of "the big picture". She just had the gift, one gift. She's got a couple of good phrases, thou. Like after the first night of newlyweds, or afterwards to 

Her mum Maryse is also wise. When she is helping her daughter choose her wardrobe, while Sylvianne can't decide she says: "He has to like you, not the clothes". Same for when she finally avows she doesn't believe in voyants, etc. OK, she's a codependent personality (drink, escrocs), but at least she knows she's being duped. Her man has the wisdom of the streets. When he accompanies Sylvianne to follow Patrice to the whore's, and he tries to minimize it. A true father figure.

The scene of the meeting of Patrice's posh parents with their future daughter in law is perfect, it shows the "clashing of cultures". Maud understood or tried to understand his son: "I understand you try to help her, her life must be very hard". Whereas her dad burst with anger: "You can help her, but why marry her!". They have a rather good marriage, it's moving that being a couple for quite a few years, he seems sincere when replies: "Everything looks fine on you". I liked his father's quip as they leave the "wedding party": "Le divorce, ca existe" :). I also liked how everybody prepared for the meeting focusing on the wardrobe, while at the end what matters are the people involved...

I never understood Patrice's character very much, he seemed, paradoxically, perpetually lost, sick, out of touch with reality, like drugged. L'inconnue is truly mysterious, but I guess the context and clothes helped. Le gendarme is the only "no nonsense" character in the film, quite alone :).

Overall, it definitely entertains!

French-language cinema, whether in France, Québec, or other Francophone regions, explores cultural identity, social change, and the tension between the individual and society. French cinema is not only celebrated for its intellectual experimentation and auteur traditions, but also its success in mainstream comedy, romance, and commercial entertainment. In Québec, films often focus on questions of language, belonging, and community within a distinct cultural landscape.

Jean-Pierre Léaud in The 400 Blows (1959)

The mystery genre features the investigation and solving of a puzzle, typically a crime or an enigmatic event. Mysteries are known for their suspenseful narratives, intricate plots, and the challenge they present to readers or viewers to piece together clues and solve the central mystery alongside the characters.

Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, and Kelvin Harrison Jr. in Chinatown (1974)

During a stormy night, Patrice takes on the road a beautiful hitchhiking girl. Patrice wakes up at hospital after a car accident they had and he learns that not any female copse has been found in the crashed car. Verydisturbed, he seeks for the ghost of the young woman.

Sophie Mounicot and Alexis Michalik in Inconnue de la départementale (2006)

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Alexis Michalik in Inconnue de la départementale (2006)

Anne Malraux, Nathalie Nell, and Alexis Michalik in Inconnue de la départementale (2006)

Éva Darlan in Inconnue de la départementale (2006)

Inconnue de la départementale

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