i would follow kinski, delon and pal maurice ronet for a romp through the best stuff. not sure how this fits the eurocult cannon, but in spirit this is all curious and (mostly) gallic, the obsession with state/secrecy/power being a hallmark.
some faves:
l'attentat (1972)
political assassination thriller with an all-star cast (trintignant, seberg, volonté etc.). the fate of one man against dark factions in french politics, very bleak and not the kind of thing that will ever be picked up by criterion.
le dossier 51 (1978)
weird, electronic spy film film sees up-and-coming politician targeted by a shadow intelligence outfit, setting him up for ruin via a very french dark art: psychology.
brigade mondaine (1978)
a wonderful, trashy view into the world of the vice squad as immortalised by gerard de villiers, the brilliant (dead) writer of french pulp crime. also great soundtrack by french disco master cerrone.
mort d'un pourri (1977)
perfectly cast film (delon, ronet, kinski as baddie, ornella muti) laying bare the sinsiter world of french politics with its corporate masters; dark and ever relevant in my view.
there is other stuff (la chair de l'orchidée, killer truck/haine) that does not fit the canon but shows the other france in a way that may be of interest to eurocult watchers.
also out of the canon but a personal favourite is the day of the jackal (1973). not french, but french in spirit (and set in france), this follows a brit hired by the oas to assassinate de gaulle. all the minutae of preparation, deception and political high stakes are as french as it gets, embodied in a perfectly dressed killer and his very french detective arch nemesis. terrific.
Last edited by bruno; 21-01-2017 at 07:29 PM.
Reason: removed instance of dark
la sonrisa es divina, la risa humana, la carcajada animal
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