Why would a man - a notary public, to boot, so a man knowledgeable about law - confess to murdering two children if he did not do it? Perhaps it has to do with some roughing up from police inspector Lino Ventura's sidekick Guy Marchand during his boss' absence.
GARDE À VUE, a legal position whereby if you are suspected of the commission of a crime you are remanded in police custody without being officially under arrest, and can be interrogated, has to do with the techniques used by police to get a suspect to confess. In this case, Ventura lies to notary public Michel Serrault's wife, Romy Schneider in her penultimate film, saying that her hubby does not want to see her. In doing so, he hopes to milk some info out of the wife that will further paint Serrault into a corner. The latter begins rather haughtily but in the end comes across as rather dumb for failing to take what he knows the law can afford him: the possibility of legal counsel and refusal to comment or answer.
Ultimately, the truth is that just as police can resort to mendacity for results, so can a man under pressure lie if he feels that control is slipping from his grasp (though I would never admit to a crime I did not commit, so I have considerable difficulty accepting that anyone of sound mind would do so).
Ultimately, all that official deceit carries unexpectedly high costs. For Schneider, who in real life had recently lost her son in a most unfortunate accident, this must have been a very tough role to play, but she does it convincingly.
Different take on the law in a different culture, certainly nothing to do with 12 ANGRY MEN, or even attempting to come anywhere near its quality in all departments, it emphasizes claustrophobia, and how police authority can distort innocence into guilt, and transform law into crime. GARDE À VUE remains well worth watching. 8/10.
GARDE À VUE, a legal position whereby if you are suspected of the commission of a crime you are remanded in police custody without being officially under arrest, and can be interrogated, has to do with the techniques used by police to get a suspect to confess. In this case, Ventura lies to notary public Michel Serrault's wife, Romy Schneider in her penultimate film, saying that her hubby does not want to see her. In doing so, he hopes to milk some info out of the wife that will further paint Serrault into a corner. The latter begins rather haughtily but in the end comes across as rather dumb for failing to take what he knows the law can afford him: the possibility of legal counsel and refusal to comment or answer.
Ultimately, the truth is that just as police can resort to mendacity for results, so can a man under pressure lie if he feels that control is slipping from his grasp (though I would never admit to a crime I did not commit, so I have considerable difficulty accepting that anyone of sound mind would do so).
Ultimately, all that official deceit carries unexpectedly high costs. For Schneider, who in real life had recently lost her son in a most unfortunate accident, this must have been a very tough role to play, but she does it convincingly.
Different take on the law in a different culture, certainly nothing to do with 12 ANGRY MEN, or even attempting to come anywhere near its quality in all departments, it emphasizes claustrophobia, and how police authority can distort innocence into guilt, and transform law into crime. GARDE À VUE remains well worth watching. 8/10.