Le corbeau
Mass movements scare the heck out of me, because there is almost nothing as scary to me as the thought that the whole world might hate me. Luckily the likelihood of that happening is very small, but after I got into quite a few collective fights on the internet, I can only guess how bad it would be in real life.
In that respect, Clouzot has managed to yet again work with a terrifying feeling – in “Le salaire de la peur” it’s the fear of death, in “Le corbeau” it’s defamation. To some degree, I cannot make up my mind about what is more scary. I would even like to say that “Le corbeau” is feels more dated: While we are always going to die and run the risk of doing so any moment, the society in “Le corbeau” seems rather specific to the pre-World War II; it is said the film is anti-gestapo. But is that really true? Isn’t the Stasi especially agile at doing that? That was barely 20 years ago, and from what I can see, it could easily happen again. It’s just that today, people are more subtle and wouldn’t react as crazily. I can imagine it to be less formulaic, but just like modern racism is hidden behind some strange mask, defamation would be successful in a different way too. Think DSK who was refused an apartment in New York City.
My favorite scene of the film is the one in which Denise calls Germain “un bourgeois”. That was pretty awesome. Actually the film has many of these awesome scenes; another one is where the old Vorzet brings up the example with the lamp to illustrate that you will burn yourself if you try to figure out who is really good and who is really bad.
Perhaps “Le corbeau” is less dramatic and gripping than “Le salaire de la peur” but the same unusual genius by Clouzot is there just the same: A great story with impressive mise en scene, transported by fitting actors. On top of that, the film is slightly less manly, thus giving its female characters more depth. Totally recommended.