MUBI

In ‘Le Corbeau’ Henri-George Clouzot produced one of the most misunderstood films of all time. France was under German occupation and all films had to be approved by the ruling Vichy Government. Jews were blacklisted and, as happened in Hollywood years later, some continued to work under assumed names. the entire atmosphere of the times was one of suspicion and paranoia and with collaboration, as with everything else there were degrees. The end result of this film would mean a disputation as to the ‘degree of collaboration’ it represented, as the Nazi’s used it as anti-French propaganda in Germany, maintaining that the French were weak and selling each other out, of course a clearer reading of it’s intent would be that it condemns a regime that provides such an atmosphere where neighbour turns upon neighbour, and that betrayal of country to such a regime is the ultimate sell-out.

Clouzot, before Claude Chabrol appropriated the title was known as a French Hitchcock, and that reputation existed based on later films like ‘Les Diabolique’ and ‘Le Salaire De La Peur’. Le Corbeau is a marvel of economy, spare and razor sharp, worthy of a Bresson, and typical of the restraint of the best French directors (think Becker’s Le Trou). The set up is intriguing and serves to keep the audience as well as the characters guessing which way events will unfold. There’s a thriller element overlay on what is essentially a morality play. Like Miller’s ‘The Crucible’, it dissects what happens to a community when trust breaks down and betrayal is not only sanctioned but required, and like that allegorical piece it’s compelling, but not pretty to watch.

As with most ‘resistance’ films it’s probably best seen after viewing Marcel Ophuls’ ‘The Sorrow and the Pity’, as the received history of events seems wildly romanticised when compared to the reality of living with collaboration. The fact that Clouzot could sneak such a subversive film past the noses of the occupying Nazi’s is surely one of the great (though at the time unrecognised) feats of resistance in itself. The revelation of the banality of betrayal a lesson to us all. A superb political film that still resonates today.