Genealogies of a Crime
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''Genealogies of a Crime'' (french: Généalogies d'un crime, pt, Genealogias de um Crime) is a 1997 French-Portuguese film directed by Chilean filmmaker Raúl Ruiz. It was entered into the
47th Berlin International Film Festival The 47th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 February 1997. The Golden Bear was awarded to Canadian-American film '' The People vs. Larry Flynt'' directed by Miloš Forman. The retrospective dedicated to Austrian fi ...
where it won the Silver Bear for an outstanding artistic contribution. Despite being released in 1997 (1998 in the United States), the film was not released on DVD until 2005. Since, it has been included in multiple DVD anthologies of Ruiz’s works.


Plot

During a stormy night, René (
Melvil Poupaud Melvil Poupaud (born 26 January 1973) is a French actor, author and filmmaker. Career Poupaud's first appearance was, as a child, in Raúl Ruiz's 1983 film '' City of Pirates''. He met Ruiz through his mother, Chantal Poupaud, who was a well-kn ...
) disposes of a knife, which is picked up by an unrevealed individual. The scene fades to a blank Go board and the narrator describes an ancient Chinese fable concerning a young man who kills a woman of the Liu Bao family, only to be killed after falling in love with her ghost. Presumably later, Solange (
Catherine Deneuve Catherine Fabienne Dorléac (born 22 October 1943), known professionally as Catherine Deneuve (, , ), is a French actress as well as an occasional singer, model, and producer, considered one of the greatest European actresses. She gained recogni ...
) is questioned by a lawyer. She begins recounting how she took on René’s case: Immediately after the death of her son, Pascal, Solange receives a call from her colleague Mathieu. Mathieu informs her that René is accused of murdering Jeanne (also played by Deneuve), his aunt and a member of the "Franco-Belgian
Psychoanalytic PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might ...
Society" which René blames for the murder. Solange agrees, and at her son’s funeral she is introduced to Georges Didier (
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 ...
); the eccentric head of the Franco-Belgian Psychoanalytic Society. Georges’ behavior is immediately apparent as unusual, he is quick to anger and relies on a notebook to remember other people’s names. Later, Solange meets René, who claims to want to be her friend and convinces her to play a game involving
role-reversal Role reversal is a psychotherapeutic technique in psychodrama that demonstrates a protagonist's intrapersonal conflicts deeply and explicitly on the stage. This technique is perhaps the single most important and effective technique in psychodrama. ...
. During the game, Solange reveals that she is known for taking on hopeless cases, and has lost every single one. Solange travels to Jeanne’s former home and is accommodated by Esther ( Bernadette Lafont), Jeanne’s former maid. Solange begins reading Jeanne’s diary and the film transitions to René’s adolescence. From the onset, Jeanne notes that René displays "criminal" behavior. As a young child René exhibits violent and unusual behavior: he destroys several pieces of China and develops a fascination with knives. In his later years, Jeanne notes that he acts normal, but still has destructive tendencies and is possibly a
kleptomaniac Kleptomania is the inability to resist the urge to steal items, usually for reasons other than personal use or financial gain. First described in 1816, kleptomania is classified in psychiatry as an impulse control disorder. Some of the main ch ...
. Jeanne attempts to treat René by utilizing the role-reversal game he had played with Solange earlier in the film. Through the game, Jeanne learns that René has hidden all the items he has stolen around the estate. At some point in his young adulthood, René leaves the estate, and contacts Jeanne when he needs money. On a day when Jeanne is meeting with her colleague Georges, René asks Jeanne for money and she refuses. During her meeting, René is seen in the background, running from a crowd presumably after attempting to steal something. While this occurs, Jeanne is introduced to Christian Corrail (
Andrzej Seweryn Andrzej Teodor Seweryn (born 25 April 1946) is a Polish actor and director. One of the most successful Polish theatre actors, he starred in over 50 films, mostly in Poland, France and Germany. He is also one of only three non-French actors to ...
), a fellow psychoanalyst and Georges’ personal nemesis. Four months before her murder, Jeanne catches Rene stealing her furniture with his friends. They engage in the same role-reversal game they’ve played several times before, and Jeanne in her anger shoots René in the arm, at which point René insists the game is over. That event is the last entry in her diary. Back in present time, Solange leaves the estate and tells Mathieu her theory: Jeanne trained René to kill her, and therefore committed suicide. Later, Solange has dinner with her mother, Louise (Monique Melinand), who reveals that Solange also demonstrated sociopathic behavior as a child. During a visit with Georges afterwards, Louise dies of a heart attack. At the funeral, Solange is informed that René has attempted suicide. At the hospital, Solange encounters Georges, who is thrown out after creating a disturbance while attempting to locate and speak to René. Solange begins to suspect Georges and her suspicions are confirmed when she is invited to witness a tableau vivant style ceremony orchestrated by the Franco-Belgian Psychoanalytic Society. The ceremony recreates a painting and alternatively blindfolds the subject and the participants. Georges revealed that he used this experiment on René. Now awake, René claims that after this ceremony he awoke and panicked upon finding his aunt dead. Solange arranges her defense around this and René is acquitted. With their reputation tarnished, the Franco-Belgian Psychoanalytic Society commits
mass suicide Mass suicide is a form of suicide, occurring when a group of people simultaneously kill themselves. Overview Mass suicide sometimes occurs in religious settings. In war, defeated groups may resort to mass suicide rather than being captured. Su ...
. René reappears soon after and begins a relationship with Solange. This relationship grows abusive, and one night Solange is driven by her own childhood tendencies and murders René and his friends. This is the conclusion of Solange’s statement to her lawyer, who has decided that Solange will plea insanity for the murder.


Production

The film was written by Ruiz and
Pascal Bonitzer Pascal Bonitzer (; born 1 February 1946) is a French screenwriter, film director, actor, and former film critic for '' Cahiers du cinéma''. He has written for 48 films and has appeared in 30 films since 1967. He starred in Raúl Ruiz's 1978 fi ...
, the star of '' The Suspended Vocation'', one of Ruiz’s most notable works. Ruiz was inspired by the story of psychoanalyst
Hermine Hug-Hellmuth Hermine Hug-Hellmuth (born Hermine Hug Edle von Hugenstein; 31 August 1871, Vienna – 9 September 1924, Vienna) was an Austrian psychoanalyst. She is regarded as the first psychoanalyst practicing with children and the first to conceptualize the ...
, who is best known for her work with children and her murder at the hands of her own nephew, whom she treated as well. Ruiz himself felt that "it is perhaps she who, right to the end manipulated this man so he would kill her exactly as she dreamed". Ruiz is noted for having an interest in "shamanic cinema" and frequently explores dreams as a motif. Furthermore, Ruiz had developed an interest in
multiple personality disorder Dissociative identity disorder (DID), better known as multiple personality disorder or multiple personality syndrome, is a mental disorder characterized by the presence of at least two distinct and relatively enduring personality states. The di ...
after agreeing to work with Barbet Schroeder on the film that would become ''
Three Lives and Only One Death ''Three Lives and Only One Death'' (french: Trois vies et une seule mort) is a 1996 French film directed by Chilean filmmaker Raúl Ruiz. It was entered into the 1996 Cannes Film Festival, and was the penultimate film to star Marcello Mastroianni ...
''. Music was done by
Jorge Arriagada Jorge Arriagada (born 1943) is a Chilean film composer. He is perhaps best known for his long-term collaboration with director Raúl Ruiz (director), Raúl Ruiz. He has also worked with directors Patricio Guzman, Barbet Schroeder and Olivier Assay ...
, who also had worked with Ruiz on many previous projects. Editing was done by
Valeria Sarmiento Valeria Sarmiento (born 29 October 1948) is a film editor, director and screenwriter best known for her work in France, Portugal and her native Chile. She has worked both in film and television, directing 20 feature films, documentaries and te ...
, Ruiz’s wife and another long-time fellow collaborator. Also of note,
Nobel Prize for Literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...
recipient
Patrick Modiano Jean Patrick Modiano (; born 30 July 1945), generally known as Patrick Modiano, is a French novelist and recipient of the 2014 Nobel Prize in Literature. He is a noted writer of autofiction, the blend of autobiography and historical fiction. In ...
makes a minor appearance as a quirky waiter.


Reception

''Genealogies of a Crime'' opened on 52 screens in France and grossed $239,172 for the week, placing eleventh at the French box office. It had a very limited release in the U.S, and as a result only grossed $73,763 in the United States. It holds an 80% rating on
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, based on 5 reviews, with an average rating of 6.4/10. However, reviews have overall been mixed. ''Boxoffice'' gave it two stars, approving of the humorous dynamic between Georges and Christian, but citing the lack of suspense as a letdown. ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
''’s Deborah Young felt that the humor was awkward, and panned its similarity to Ruiz’s earlier works, but conceded that "Still, there is a constant stream of good-natured, high-brow Euro humor to satisfy those who stay on board for the ride". Stephen Holden 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 ...
'' referred to ''Genealogies of a Crime'' as a "delightful
metaphysical Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...
comedy" and enjoyed the distance created by the cast's "cool and assured" performances. The film was nominated for the
Golden Berlin Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The win ...
and won the Silver Berlin Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution at the 1997 Berlin International Film Festival.


Cast

*
Catherine Deneuve Catherine Fabienne Dorléac (born 22 October 1943), known professionally as Catherine Deneuve (, , ), is a French actress as well as an occasional singer, model, and producer, considered one of the greatest European actresses. She gained recogni ...
as Jeanne/Solange *
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 Georges Didier *
Melvil Poupaud Melvil Poupaud (born 26 January 1973) is a French actor, author and filmmaker. Career Poupaud's first appearance was, as a child, in Raúl Ruiz's 1983 film '' City of Pirates''. He met Ruiz through his mother, Chantal Poupaud, who was a well-kn ...
as René *
Andrzej Seweryn Andrzej Teodor Seweryn (born 25 April 1946) is a Polish actor and director. One of the most successful Polish theatre actors, he starred in over 50 films, mostly in Poland, France and Germany. He is also one of only three non-French actors to ...
as Christian * Bernadette Lafont as Esther· * Monique Melinand as Louise· *Jean-Yves Gautier as Mathieu *
Mathieu Amalric Mathieu Amalric (; born 25 October 1965) is a French actor and filmmaker. He is best known internationally for his roles in the James Bond film '' Quantum of Solace'', in which he played the lead villain, Steven Spielberg's ''Munich'', Wes An ...
as Yves *Camila Mora as Soledad *
Patrick Modiano Jean Patrick Modiano (; born 30 July 1945), generally known as Patrick Modiano, is a French novelist and recipient of the 2014 Nobel Prize in Literature. He is a noted writer of autofiction, the blend of autobiography and historical fiction. In ...
as Bob *
Brigitte Sy Brigitte Sy (born 26 January 1956) is a French actress and filmmaker. Her directorial film debut, ''Les Mains libres'', was released in 2010 to critical acclaim in France. Life and career She is the mother of the actors Louis Garrel and Esther ...
as Jeanne


Awards


References


External links

* {{Raúl Ruiz 1997 films 1997 crime thriller films 1990s mystery films 1990s psychological thriller films French thriller films Films directed by Raúl Ruiz Films produced by Paulo Branco Silver Bear for outstanding artistic contribution Films shot in Portugal 1990s French-language films Portuguese thriller films 1990s French films