'' Death in a French Garden '' () is a 1985 French

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Michel Deville Michel Deville (13 April 1931 – 16 February 2023) was a French film director and screenwriter. Deville started his filmmaking career in the late 1950s, paralleling the emergence of the French New Wave directors. He never achieved the level o ...

. It was entered into the

35th Berlin International Film Festival The 35th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 15 to 26 February 1985. The retrospective was dedicated to ''Special effects''. The Golden Bear was jointly awarded to '' The Woman and the Strangler'' directed by Rainer Simon a ...

Plot

David Aurphet, a struggling guitar teacher, is invited to give lessons to Viviane Tombsthay, the daughter of a well-to-do couple. The wife, Julia, commences an affair with him while Viviane and a neighbour, Edwige, proposition him. Later, David is robbed but is rescued by a stranger, Daniel Forest, whom he has seen hanging around near the Tombsthays' property. Daniel admits to being a

contract killer Contract killing (also known as murder-for-hire) is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or people. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of compensation, moneta ...

who is on a job and suggests that the robbery is a cover for someone who wishes to injure David's hand, such as a jealous husband. David receives an anonymous video tape with evidence of his affair; Julia says she has received one, too. He tells Edwige about the video but not about Julia. After he finds that someone has been at his house, he asks Daniel to stay overnight just in case. Julia appears and invites David to her home as her husband is away. After she leaves, Daniel tells David that Julia's husband, Graham, is his intended target. He warns David to be wary of Graham and suggest he avoids Julia for a while. When David refuses, Daniel gives him a hand gun for protection. David arrives but finds Graham there wanting to kill him. David shoots him. Julia advises David to leave and he seeks refuge with Edwige. She shows him a video that shows that he only injured Graham, who was later killed by Julia. David is later threatened by Daniel over some missing microfilm. David kills him and leaves the area with Viviane.

Cast

Anémone Anne Bourguignon (; 9 August 1950 – 30 April 2019), known professionally as Anémone (), was a French actress, filmmaker and political activist. She took her stage name in 1968 from the title of her film debut in Philippe Garrel's ''Anémone ...

as Edwige Ledieu *

Richard Bohringer Richard Bohringer () is a French actor, singer, writer, and film director. He is the father of actresses Romane Bohringer and . Early life Bohringer was born in Moulins, Allier, France, to a French mother, Huguette Foucault and a German fathe ...

as Daniel Forest *

Nicole Garcia Nicole Garcia (born 22 April 1946) is a French actress, film director and screenwriter. Her film '' Charlie Says'' was entered into the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. Her film '' Going Away'' was screened in the Special Presentation section at the ...

as Julia Tombsthay * Christophe Malavoy as David Aurphet *

Michel Piccoli Jacques Daniel Michel Piccoli (27 December 1925 – 12 May 2020) was a French actor, producer and film director with a career spanning 70 years. He was lauded as one of the greatest French character actors of his generation who played a wide vari ...

as Graham Tombsthay *

Anaïs Jeanneret Anaïs, Anais or ANAIS may refer to: People *Anaïs (given name), a female given name, especially popular in France and Greece (including a list of people with the name) *Anaïs (singer) (born 1965), French singer *Anaís (born 1984), Dominican R ...

as Vivianne Tombsthay *

Jean-Claude Jay Jean-Claude is a French masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: People called Jean-Claude * Jean-Claude Ades, an Italian electronic music producer * Jean-Claude Alibert (died 2020), a French racing driver * Jean-Claude Amiot ( ...

as Father * Hélène Roussel as Mother *

Franck de la Personne Franck Lapersonne (a.k.a. ''Franck de la Personne'' and ''Franck de Lapersonne'') (born 29 October 1963) is a French comedian, actor theatre director, and political candidate. Personal life Franck de la Personne is the son of Jacques Lapersonne ...

as Guitar dealer *

Élisabeth Vitali Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ( ...

as Waitress *

Daniel Vérité Daniel commonly refers to: * Daniel (given name), a masculine given name and a surname * List of people named Daniel * List of people with surname Daniel * Daniel (biblical figure) * Book of Daniel, a biblical apocalypse, "an account of the activi ...

as Attacker

References

External links

* 1985 films 1985 drama films 1980s French-language films French drama films Films directed by Michel Deville Films about adultery in France Gaumont (company) films Films whose director won the Best Director César Award 1980s French films French-language drama films {{1980s-France-film-stub