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Le Cri de la soie
1996 Drama / Romance
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Credits
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Director: Yvon Marciano
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Script: Jean-François Goyet, Yvon Marciano
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Photo: William Lubtchansky
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Music: Alexandre Desplat
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Cast: Sergio Castellitto (Gabriel de Villemer),
Marie Trintignant (Marie Benjamin),
Anémone (Cécile),
Adriana Asti (Mme de Villemer),
Alexandra London (Aude),
Didier Sauvegrain (Docteur Bellec),
Philippe Morier-Genoud (Le médecin-chef),
Monique Couturier (Soeur Camille),
Marc Betton (Le directeur de la prison),
Sylvie Milhaud (Jeanne Davenne)
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Country: France / Belgium
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Language: French
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Runtime: 110 min
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Summary
Paris, 1914. An eminent psychiatrist, Gabriel de Villemer, takes an interest in
the case of an illiterate young woman, Marie Benjamin, who was arrested for stealing a
piece of silk. Gabriel is fascinated by Marie’s extreme fetishism for the material
and finds himself drawn to her, even beginning to share her obsession for fine fabrics.
Marie remains in prison, passing the time by learning to read and write, whilst Gabriel
goes off to fight the Germans in North Africa. After the war, Gabriel publishes
his account of Marie’s case and soon after receives an unexpected visit from Marie...
Review
This unusual romantic drama, liberally adapted from on the true-life story of psychiatrist
and photographer de Gaëtan Gatian de Clérambault, is the first full length
film from director Yvon Marciano. Whilst the plot is interesting, if not to say
bizarre, the film’s lack of passion and focus is frustrating in places. There
is certainly a great deal of dramatic potential in the drama, but this is not adequately
exploited and overall the film feels lacklustre and slow-moving. However,
the film’s biggest fault is that, despite intense performances from Sergio Castellitto
and Marie Trintignant, the characters in the film retain an impenetrable cold reserve
which makes it difficult for an audience to engage with them.
© James Travers 2002
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