Coup de Torchon (1981)

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Directed by Bertrand Tavernier.

Starring Stéphane Audran, Isabelle Huppert, Jean-Pierre Marielle, Eddy Mitchell, Philippe Noiret.

Based on pulp master Jim Thompson's Pop. 1280, Bertrand Tavernier's Coup de Torchon is a sardonic thriller that remains true to its source's spirit, even as it transposes the action from the American South to colonial West Africa. Lucien (Philippe Noiret) is the bumbling police chief of Bourkasa, a dusty outpost in rural Senegal. Badgered by local thugs, Lucien initially comes across as a pathetic oaf unable to stand up for himself. Things at home are scarcely better, as Lucien finds himself harried by his nagging wife, Huguette (Stéphane Audran), who is carrying on an affair with a man she claims to be her brother (Eddy Mitchell). Without warning, Lucien embarks on a nonchalant killing spree, murdering everyone who has ever mistreated him. As he sets about "cleaning the slate," Lucien intensifies his affair with ditsy Rose (Isabelle Huppert), all the while pining for the newly arrived schoolteacher, Anne (Irene Skobline). Remaining above suspicion even as bodies pile up, the seemingly witless Lucien gradually develops a twisted logic for his actions, animating his crusade with an evangelical purpose. By movie's end, Tavernier leaves little room for redemption, leaving the joyless Lucien mired in a moral quagmire of his own making. ~ Elbert Ventura, All Movie Guide

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Reviews and discussions

movie year countdown #26 - 1981 ...
by Risselada in Risselada Blog

liked it.

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"This blog entry is part of my “movie year countdown”. To read more about that check out my first Spout filmblog entry.Coup de torchon (Clean Slate) An interesting film definitely. With a main character who is sometimes hard to understand, hard to read, but who is sometimes very easy to connect with. I wonder if this might be a cultural difference or a conscious stylistic choice.It's a movie that feels like a lot of opposite things. It's funny yet horrifyingly cold and serious. It's cynical and hopeful. It gave me an unusual feeling that was hard to describe, and I'm still not sure how to say I feel about this movie.I may have to see some more from Tavernier.I would recommend this movie even if you really want to punch a lot of the characters a lot of the time. But no one in this movie is held unaccountable. Everyone has made some kind of sin. The question is when should people be the judge and when is going too far?I wish I could say more, but I ... " [More]

Re: Am I off?
by Risselada in Totally Over-rated

liked it.

"Yeah I see what you are saying. It's not that all of their films are horrible, but you just can't see how people can revere them as much as some of the other fine Frech directors you metioned. " [More]

Re: Am I off?
by Jymkata in Totally Over-rated

liked it.

"Jason, I identify with you, although maybe with not as much good reason, as I've only seen one film by each of those two directors. But in the case of Godard it was enough to keep me from looking into any more of his films since then. I thnk I saw Breathless about five years ago, and was highly disappointed. I've been actually trying to figure out which movie of his I'll see next when I finally do, but I'm really not sure still. Alphaville seems to be maybe the best candidate from what I've seen. Obviously you aren't the one to ask though.As for Tati, I have seen Mr. Hulot's Holiday, and while I thought it was good, I definitely was confused like you how he could compared with Keaten or Chaplin. Well, I think if you are looking to compare then you will be disappointed. But when I looked at the movie as more of a chance to just relax and go for a short little vacation of you own, it seemed to settle better. There's nothing fast paced or even w ... " [More]

Re: Am I off?
by Risselada in Totally Over-rated

liked it.

Re: What book would you like to ...
by Puhnner in CinLit

loved it.

"Cripes! You are right! It is already and I have it on my 'wish to see list'. How hilarious, but thank you, now it goes on Netflix.Thanks again.I would love to see anything that Jim Thompson did, that has not been made into a film. Population 1280 and The Killer Inside Me or the Getaway ( but with the great ending ). I know that all of these have been made already in one form or another, but still.from Wikihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wi ki/Jim_Thompson_(writer)As noted above, two of Thompson's books were adapted as Hollywood motion pictures during his lifetime, but in the end, neither was true to Thompson's spirit.French director Bertrand Tavernier adapted Pop. 1280 for his 1981 film, Coup de Torchon, changing the setting from the American South to a French colony in West Africa of the 1930s. A Hell of a Woman was also adapted in French as Série noire (1979).A decade later (1989-1990), Hollywood resumed its interest in Thompson's writing. Three novels were ad ... " [More]

Movie year countdown viewing pr ...
by Risselada in Risselada Blog

liked it.

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"Here’s the dilemma. I have a list of well over three thousand movies I want to see saved on IMDB. I have a subscription to Netflix and recently every time I return a DVD it has been an extremely arduous task to make the decision as to which movie I should see next. In an effort to narrow down my choices and make the process of choosing slightly less overwhelming I have devised a system, almost a bit of a game for me. Here’s how it goes.For my first film selection, I have narrowed the options down to only films that were released in the year 2006. Then after I have watched that movie, my next selection would have to be a film released in 2005. Then I would see a film from 2004, then 2003, etc. The process of deciding is still laborious, but actually quite a bit more exciting. (I'm going by IMDB as my source for release years)I have already been making a list and have also already begun watching the films. I decided this might be a good time to start fooling ... " [More]

Review by All Movie Guide

All Movie Guide

is neutral about it.

French filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier based this well-received 1981 release on Jim Thompson's Pop. 1280. Tavernier moved the action from 1910s America to 1930s Africa, but the themes and spirit of the original remain intact. Audacious and intermittently brilliant, Coup de Torchon charts the compelling trajectory of Lucien (Philippe Noiret), the dimwitted police chief of a sparsely populated rural outpost in West Africa. Initially portrayed as an inept fool, Lucien embarks on a violent crusade of justice and retribution against the town's thugs and his personal enemies. As his crimes mount, the outwardly dense dolt reveals a more calculating awareness, constructing a dubious rationale for his brand of dispassionate fascism. Bleak as it is, and considering the seriousness with which it poses moral questions, the movie is not as chilling as it should be. Coup de Torchon's horror is at once underscored and leavened by its broad, black humor. Tavernier peoples the film with cartoonish grotesques, be it Lucien's banshee of a wife (Stéphane Audran), her childlike brother/lover (Eddy Mitchell), or the bullying pimps that pester Lucien. Given that its main theme is the power of specious moral logic, it's entirely appropriate that Tavernier set his movie in colonial Africa. The setting only amplifies Thompson's corrosive world view, even as it supplies a potent historical correlative for Lucien's incoherent ideas about good and evil. ~ Elbert Ventura, All Movie Guide

Tags: criterion , jim-thompson , shooting-stiffs , French-shit , extramaritalaffair
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