''Mortelle Randonnée'' is a 1983 French thriller film inspired by the novel ''Eye of the Beholder'' by Marc Behm. Directed by

Claude Miller Claude Miller (20 February 1942 – 4 April 2012) was a French film director, producer and screenwriter. Life and career Claude Miller was born to a Jewish family. A student at Paris' IDHEC film school from 1962 through 1963, Miller had his fi ...

, the film stars

Michel Serrault Michel Serrault (24 January 1928 – 29 July 2007) was a French stage and film actor who appeared from 1954 until 2007 in more than 130 films. Life and career His first professional job was in a touring production in Germany of Molière's '' Les ...

as The "Eye" Beauvoir,

Isabelle Adjani Isabelle Yasmina Adjani ; born 27 June 1955) is a French actress and singer of Algerian and German descent. She is the only performer in history to win five César Awards for acting; she won the Best Actress award for '' Possession'' (1981), '' ...

as Catherine, and

Geneviève Page Geneviève Page (born Geneviève Bonjean, 13 December 1927) is a French actress with a film career spanning fifty years and also numerous English-speaking film productions. She is the daughter of French art collector Jacques Paul Bonjean (1899– ...

as Mme. Schmidt-Boulanger. The film had a total of 916,868 admissions in France. ''Mortelle Randonnée'' was released 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 ...

as ''Deadly Circuit'' and in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

as ''Deadly Run''. The film was remade in 1999 as '' Eye of the Beholder''.

Plot

The plot revolves around Catherine, a

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

who seduces men and then murders them throughout countries in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. Catherine is trailed by the detective "The Eye" Beauvoir, who fantasizes that she is his long-lost daughter and disposes of her trail of corpses to foil the police. Catherine has a real love affair with a blind architect (

Sami Frey Sami Frey (born Samuel Frei; 13 October 1937) is a French actor of Iranian Jewish descent. Among the films he starred in are '' En compagnie d'Antonin Artaud'' (1993), in which he portrays French poet and playwright Antonin Artaud, and '' Bande ...

) but Beauvoir's jealousy causes the man's death. Catherine returns to her psychotic killing. As the police dragnet closes in, Catherine and Beauvoir have their final showdown.

Cast

as Beauvoir *

as Catherine Leiris / Lucie Brentano *

as Madame Schmidt-Boulanger *

as Ralph Forbes *

Macha Méril Macha Méril (; born Princess Maria-Magdalena Vladimirovna Gagarina on 3 September 1940) is a French actress and writer. Biography Méril is descended by her father from the Russian princely house Gagarin and by her mother from a Ukrainian nob ...

as Madeleine * Patrick Bouchitey as Michel de Meyerganz * Jean-Claude Brialy as Voragine *

Étienne Chicot Étienne Chicot (5 May 1949 – 7 August 2018) was a French actor and composer.Guy Marchand Guy Marchand (born 22 May 1937) is a French actor, musician and singer. He is best known for his role as fictional private detective Nestor Burma. Selected filmography * 1962: '' The Longest Day'' as an extra (Uncredited) * 1975: '' Cousin ...

as The Pale Man *

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'' ...

as The Grey Lady

Soundtrack

Music for the film was composed by (and traditional tunes arranged by) Carla Bley, performed by The Carla Bley Band.

Reception

The film was commercially unsuccessful, generating only 916,868 admissions in France, but gradually acquired a cult status in its native country. For years, it was shown on the French television in a version cut by 25 minutes. This version was released on DVD in the U.S. by Fox Lorber in 2003. The restored two-hour version was released in France on DVD in 2007, and on Blu-ray in 2016, after which ''L’Express'' said the film "deserves to be rediscovered". ''Télérama'' called it "a black diamond", "the most stylized, the most beautiful, and the most literary of all French thrillers." ''Time Out'' called it "an intriguing thriller" and "a colourful if not altogether successful study in obsession and guilt transference." It also praised the performances and said "Serrault is magnificent, as always." ''TV Guide'' said "Miller inverts the typical cat-and-mouse thriller conventions to produce a treatise on parental loss." Roy Armes wrote: "What is remarkable about ''Mortelle randonnée'' is the extent to which the lushly assured ''

mise-en-scène ''Mise-en-scène'' (; en, "placing on stage" or "what is put into the scene") is the stage design and arrangement of actors in scenes for a theatre or film production, both in visual arts through storyboarding, visual theme, and cinematography, a ...

'' and solid technical mastery are applied to a subject which is never remotely convincing or engaging."

References

External links

* * * 1983 films 1980s crime thriller films 1980s psychological thriller films French thriller films Films shot in Belgium French detective films French neo-noir films Films directed by Claude Miller Films based on American novels Films with screenplays by Jacques Audiard Films with screenplays by Michel Audiard French serial killer films 1980s French films {{psychological-thriller-film-stub