A King Without Distraction (French: Un roi sans divertissement) is a 1963 French mystery film directed by François Leterrier, starring Claude Giraud and Colette Renard. The story is set in the winter of 1843 and follows a police captain who investigates the disappearance of several little girls from a village.
The film is based on the novel Un roi sans divertissement by Jean Giono.[1] The title quotes Blaise Pascal, "Qu'on laisse un roi tout seul sans aucune satisfaction des sens, sans aucun soin de l'esprit, sans compagnies et sans divertissements, penser à lui tout à loisir, et l'on verra qu'un roi sans divertissement est un homme plein de misères." (Pensées, 1670, posth.). It was shot in the village Les Hermaux, on the Aubrac plateau in Aveyron.[2] It was Claude Giraud's first leading role in a film. It was released in France on 30 August 1963.[3]
The title of the film is derived from French philosopher Blaise Pascal’s Pensées (1670) "Qu'on laisse un roi tout seul sans aucune satisfaction des sens, sans aucun soin de l'esprit, sans compagnies et sans divertissements, penser à lui tout à loisir, et l'on verra qu'un roi sans divertissement est un homme plein de misères." (Pensées, 1670, posth.). "Let a king be left all alone without any satisfaction of the senses, without any care of the mind, without company and without entertainment, think of him at leisure, and we will see that a king without entertainment is a man full of miseries."[4][5]
Leterrier’s film juxtaposes the realms the murderer and the non-murderer, demonstrating that the boundary between the two is fragile. Un roi sans divertissement confronts the movie audience with their own homicidal potential.[6]
In this “small masterpiece of benighted romanticism”, an upright young captain of the gendarmerie, Langlois (Claude Girard) is tasked with accounting for the disappearance of a number of little girls in a remote snowbound village.[7] Despite his high rectitude, the Captain discovers himself susceptible to the same impulses that motivate the sociopath he seeks to discover.[8] A village elder and former public prosecutor (Charles Vanel), counsels the officer that the perpetrator responsible for the disappearances is likely a model citizen of the community, and whose “base instincts” are not easily discernible. Thematically, this is a key transitional point in the film: appearances can lie, and the seeds of depravity may be concealed by the young officers’ own handsome visage.[9]
As Captain Langlois struggles to define the criminal’s motivation, he begins to display a cold indifference to death as he toys with the corpse of a small bird he has crushed with his hands. Although he refrains from an impulse to assault Clara, the inn’s proprietor and former prostitute (Colette Renard), the officers identity is rapidly disintegrating.[10] When Langlois simultaneously discovers the bodies of the murdered girls and spots the suspected killer retreating slowly through the frozen landscape, he pursues the suspect. The two men move in synchronicity as the murderer leads his pursuer to his home, which as predicted by the prosecutor is a conventional abode with wife and children. When confronted with his crime, the sociopath mildly affirms his guilt. The officer escorts the man outside and shoots him. Film historian offers this summation of the film’s denouement:
“At the moment of actually killing, Langlois takes on the disquieting insanity of the killer. Now the film enters its final phase, an extension of the atmosphere that Leterrier has established so subtly...Langlois, a cord stretched tight between his hands, looks through the window of a house in the village. There are children inside. With an effort of will, Langlois turns his [homicidal] passion against himself. In the last frame, the handsome face is dead, and the blood of Langlois is red on the snow.”[11]
Footnotesedit
^"Un roi sans divertissement". bifi.fr (in French). Cinémathèque Française. Retrieved 2015-09-23.
^"Anecdotes du film Un Roi sans divertissement". AlloCiné (in French). Retrieved 2015-09-23.
^"Un Roi Sans Divertissement". Première (in French). Retrieved 2015-09-23.
^"Anecdotes du film Un Roi sans divertissement". AlloCiné (in French). Retrieved 2015-09-23.
^"Un Roi Sans Divertissement". Première (in French). Retrieved 2015-09-23.
^Gow, 1968 p. 66: Gow offers quotes from actor Rod Steiger on the furtive desire to murder. Gow also quotes from Martha Wolfenstein regarding “the destructive potentialities present in every human being...”
^Gow, 1968 p. P. 67, 68-69: This is a composite quote from pages indicated, but the meaning is consistent with Gow’s.
Sourcesedit
Gow, Gordon. 1968. Suspense in the Cinema. Castle Books, New York. The Tanvity Press and A. S. Barnes & Co. Inc. Library of Congress Catalog Card No: 68-15196.
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A King Without Distraction French Un roi sans divertissement is a 1963 French mystery film directed by Francois Leterrier starring Claude Giraud and Colette Renard The story is set in the winter of 1843 and follows a police captain who investigates the disappearance of several little girls from a village A King Without DistractionDirected byFrancois LeterrierScreenplay byJean GionoBased onUn roi sans divertissement by Jean GionoProduced byAndree DebarCinematographyJean BadalEdited byFrancoise JavetMusic byJacques BrelMaurice JarreRelease date30 August 1963 1963 08 30 Running time84 minutesCountryFranceLanguageFrench The film is based on the novel Un roi sans divertissement by Jean Giono 1 The title quotes Blaise Pascal Qu on laisse un roi tout seul sans aucune satisfaction des sens sans aucun soin de l esprit sans compagnies et sans divertissements penser a lui tout a loisir et l on verra qu un roi sans divertissement est un homme plein de miseres Pensees 1670 posth It was shot in the village Les Hermaux on the Aubrac plateau in Aveyron 2 It was Claude Giraud s first leading role in a film It was released in France on 30 August 1963 3 Contents 1 Cast 2 Summary 3 Theme 4 Footnotes 5 SourcesCast editClaude Giraud as Captain Langlois Colette Renard as Clara Charles Vanel as the prosecutor Albert Remy as the mayor Rene Blancard as the priest Pierre Repp as RavanelSummary edithttps www impetueux com un roi sans divertissement Theme editThe title of the film is derived from French philosopher Blaise Pascal s Pensees 1670 Qu on laisse un roi tout seul sans aucune satisfaction des sens sans aucun soin de l esprit sans compagnies et sans divertissements penser a lui tout a loisir et l on verra qu un roi sans divertissement est un homme plein de miseres Pensees 1670 posth Let a king be left all alone without any satisfaction of the senses without any care of the mind without company and without entertainment think of him at leisure and we will see that a king without entertainment is a man full of miseries 4 5 Leterrier s film juxtaposes the realms the murderer and the non murderer demonstrating that the boundary between the two is fragile Un roi sans divertissement confronts the movie audience with their own homicidal potential 6 In this small masterpiece of benighted romanticism an upright young captain of the gendarmerie Langlois Claude Girard is tasked with accounting for the disappearance of a number of little girls in a remote snowbound village 7 Despite his high rectitude the Captain discovers himself susceptible to the same impulses that motivate the sociopath he seeks to discover 8 A village elder and former public prosecutor Charles Vanel counsels the officer that the perpetrator responsible for the disappearances is likely a model citizen of the community and whose base instincts are not easily discernible Thematically this is a key transitional point in the film appearances can lie and the seeds of depravity may be concealed by the young officers own handsome visage 9 As Captain Langlois struggles to define the criminal s motivation he begins to display a cold indifference to death as he toys with the corpse of a small bird he has crushed with his hands Although he refrains from an impulse to assault Clara the inn s proprietor and former prostitute Colette Renard the officers identity is rapidly disintegrating 10 When Langlois simultaneously discovers the bodies of the murdered girls and spots the suspected killer retreating slowly through the frozen landscape he pursues the suspect The two men move in synchronicity as the murderer leads his pursuer to his home which as predicted by the prosecutor is a conventional abode with wife and children When confronted with his crime the sociopath mildly affirms his guilt The officer escorts the man outside and shoots him Film historian offers this summation of the film s denouement At the moment of actually killing Langlois takes on the disquieting insanity of the killer Now the film enters its final phase an extension of the atmosphere that Leterrier has established so subtly Langlois a cord stretched tight between his hands looks through the window of a house in the village There are children inside With an effort of will Langlois turns his homicidal passion against himself In the last frame the handsome face is dead and the blood of Langlois is red on the snow 11 Footnotes edit Un roi sans divertissement bifi fr in French Cinematheque Francaise Retrieved 2015 09 23 Anecdotes du film Un Roi sans divertissement AlloCine in French Retrieved 2015 09 23 Un Roi Sans Divertissement Premiere in French Retrieved 2015 09 23 Anecdotes du film Un Roi sans divertissement AlloCine in French Retrieved 2015 09 23 Un Roi Sans Divertissement Premiere in French Retrieved 2015 09 23 Gow 1968 p 66 Gow offers quotes from actor Rod Steiger on the furtive desire to murder Gow also quotes from Martha Wolfenstein regarding the destructive potentialities present in every human being Gow 1968 p 66 Gow 1968 p 66 67 Gow 1968 p 67 68 Gow 1968 p 66 67 Gow 1968 p P 67 68 69 This is a composite quote from pages indicated but the meaning is consistent with Gow s Sources editGow Gordon 1968 Suspense in the Cinema Castle Books New York The Tanvity Press and A S Barnes amp Co Inc Library of Congress Catalog Card No 68 15196 nbsp This article related to a French film of the 1960s is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title A King Without Distraction amp oldid 1178581693, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
