''Le Boucher'' ( en, The Butcher) is a 1970

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

psychological thriller film Psychological thriller is a genre combining the thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting. In terms of context and co ...

written and directed by

Claude Chabrol Claude Henri Jean Chabrol (; 24 June 1930 – 12 September 2010) was a French film director and a member of the French New Wave (''nouvelle vague'') group of filmmakers who first came to prominence at the end of the 1950s. Like his colleagues an ...

. Set in the village of

Trémolat Trémolat (; oc, Tremolat) is a commune in the Dordogne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Geography Trémolat is from the town of Périgueux and is situated along the river Dordogne in the Périgord region. Trémolat s ...

on the river

Dordogne Dordogne ( , or ; ; oc, Dordonha ) is a large rural department in Southwestern France, with its prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and the Pyrenees, it is named af ...

, it tells the story of a deeply troubled butcher (

Jean Yanne Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * J ...

) who falls in love with the head teacher of the school (

Stéphane Audran Stéphane Audran (born Colette Suzanne Dacheville; 8 November 1932 – 27 March 2018) was a French actress. She was known for her performances in award-winning films such as ''The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie'' (1972) and ''Babette's Feast'' ...

) but she, though happy to be a close friend, refuses a physical relationship. The film had a total of 1,148,554 admissions in France.

Plot

At the wedding of the assistant teacher of the village school, the head teacher is placed next to the butcher. She is Hélène, close to age 30 and single, who gets happily tipsy. He is Popaul who, after 15 years in the army, has just come home to take over the family shop and falls instantly for his attractive neighbour. Over the next few weeks they see more of each other, sharing meals, going to the cinema, and exchanging little presents. She says she is no prude, but after an unhappy affair does not want him to touch her. He says he joined the army to get away from a hateful father and repeatedly dwells on awful things he saw in

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

and

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. The peace of the friendly little village is however shattered when a young woman's body is found, killed by a knife, and the police cannot come up with a suspect. When Hélène takes the school for a picnic on a hillside, blood from a second freshly-killed corpse drips onto the children. It is the bride of the assistant teacher, and at the site Hélène finds an unusual cigarette lighter she gave to Popaul. Keeping quiet about it to the police, she hides it in a drawer at home. Next time Popaul calls to see her, she asks him to light her cigarette and he does it with an identical lighter. She relaxes, confident that the lighter beside the murdered woman was not his. He offers to paint her ceiling, coming round to do it one evening when she has to go into town. Looking for a cloth to clean up with, he finds the lighter she had hidden and pockets it. When she gets home and finds the lighter gone, she realises that he knows she can identify him as the murderer. She starts locking all her doors and windows, but he is already in the house and, cornering her at knife point, starts trying to explain what drives him to do these things. When she breaks into tears over his suffering, he thrusts the knife into his abdomen. She drags him into her car and rushes off to hospital. During the drive, he confesses more of the huge psychic burden he has laboured under: On arrival he asks her to give him their first kiss on the lips, after which he dies.

Cast

as Hélène Daville *

as Paul Thomas, known as Popaul

Awards

* 1970 : Silver Shell for Best Actress at the

San Sebastián International Film Festival The San Sebastián International Film Festival ( SSIFF; es, Festival Internacional de San Sebastián, eu, Donostia Zinemaldia) is an annual FIAPF A category film festival held in the Spanish city of Donostia-San Sebastián in September, in th ...

for Stéphane Audran. * 1971 :

Bodil Award The Bodil Awards are the major Danish film awards given by the Danish Film Critics Association. The awards are presented annually at a ceremony in Copenhagen. Established in 1948, it is one of the oldest film awards in Europe. The awards are given ...

for Best Non-American Film for Claude Chabrol.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boucher 1970 films 1970s psychological thriller films 1970s French-language films French psychological thriller films Italian psychological thriller films French serial killer films Films directed by Claude Chabrol Films set in France 1970s serial killer films Italian serial killer films 1970s Italian films 1970s French films