Jean-Claude Brisseau (Secret Things, The Exterminating Angels, A L’Aventure) is an auteur often associated with films that are sexually provocative, risqué and controversial, and in these two striking works from the earlier part of his career he explores alienated families and individuals adrift in the Paris suburbs with devastating effect. Brutal, passionate, obsessive and pertinent, UN JEU BRUTAL and DE BRUIT ET DE FUREUR remain to this day two of the most powerful and shocking French films.
UN JEU BRUTAL (1983)
In this darkly fascinating tale, Brisseau takes the most unsympathetic character imaginable, the child killer, and pleads his case.
Professor Tessier (Bruno Cremer), a scientist, has a rebellious adolescent daughter, who is paralysed from the waist down. His fury about her plight may be behind his earlier murderous spree against children who vandalised his laboratory. Tessier’s treatment of his daughter is strict to the point of sadism. Nonetheless, he evokes pity as much as revulsion. He’s a shy, taciturn figure who has lost his moral bearings.
Resolutely avoiding serial-killer movie conventions, Brisseau has crafted a mesmerising character study, anchored by stunning performances from Emmanuelle Debever and Bruno Cremer. A troubling and haunting early feature from France’s most notorious auteur.
DE BRUIT ET DE FUREUR (1988)
Winner of the Special Youth Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, Brisseau’s acclaimed film presents a brutal, shocking and poignant look at the lives of impoverished children living in the Paris projects.
Bruno, a 14 year old boy, has just moved into a high-rise project with his hard-working mother. Barely earning enough to support them takes all of her time, leaving Bruno alone to fend for himself. After he is befriended at school by the streetwise, battered and deeply troubled Jean-Roger, Bruno is soon out thieving, destroying property and harming people with a vengeance, before long catching the attention of the police…
DE BRUIT ET DE FUREUR is a trailblazing and visionary portrait of contemporary social malaise, featuring extraordinary performances from the young leads. With startling realism Brisseau denounces the dangers of a boxed-in society and questions the responsibilities of those charged with the care and education of children.
WINNER – Special Youth Award – Cannes Film Festival 1988
Bonus features includes in-depth interviews with Jean-Claude Brisseau.
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