''The Breach'' (french: "La Rupture") is a 1970 film written and directed by
Claude Chabrol, based on the novel ''The Balloon Man'' by
Charlotte Armstrong
Charlotte Armstrong Lewi (May 2, 1905, in Vulcan, Michigan – July 18, 1969 in Glendale, California) was an American writer. Under the names Charlotte Armstrong and Jo Valentine she wrote 29 novels, as well as short stories, plays, and screenp ...
. The film was also known as ''The Breakup'' at times in its release in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
.
The film had a total of 927,678 admissions in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
.
Plot
Hélène Régnier's (
Audran)
mentally ill
A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitt ...
husband Charles (
Drouot) injures their son, Michel, in a violent rage. Hélène beats Charles to the floor with a frying pan, flees and starts divorce proceedings. Charles moves back in with his wealthy and
manipulative parents, who never approved of his marriage and are determined to secure custody of Michel. While the boy is recovering in a local
hospital, Hélène moves to a
boarding house nearby. The Régniers hire Paul Thomas (
Cassel Cassel may refer to:
People
* Cassel (surname)
Places
;France
* Cassel, Nord, a town and commune in northern France
** Battle of Cassel (1071)
** Battle of Cassel (1328)
** Battle of Cassel (1677)
;Germany
* Cassel, Germany, a city in Hesse re ...
), an impoverished family acquaintance, to find damaging material on Hélène to help them secure custody. Paul moves into the boarding house and, with the help of his girlfriend Sonia (
Rouvel), plots to ruin Hélène's reputation.
Principal cast
Critical reception
Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who served as the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in ...
of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'':
Dave Kerr of ''
The Chicago Reader
The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative weekly newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. It was founded by a ...
'':
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Breach
1970 films
1970s psychological drama films
1970s psychological thriller films
Films directed by Claude Chabrol
Films shot in Belgium
Films shot in Paris
French thriller drama films
French psychological thriller films
French psychological drama films
Italian psychological thriller films
Italian psychological drama films
Italian thriller drama films
Films based on American novels
Films based on works by Charlotte Armstrong
1970 drama films
1970s French-language films
1970s Italian films
1970s French films