Juste avant la nuit
Thursday, February 19, 2026
Run Time: 100 minutes
Claude Chabrol, 1971, 100min, DCP
Starring Stéphane Audran, Michel Bouquet
Chabrol dives deep into the moralistic mind games triggered by acts of infidelity, betrayal, and murder—some of the filmmaker’s central themes—in this story of a married adman (Michel Bouquet) who kills his lover, also his best friend’s wife. The murder occurs immediately: the opening scene finds him fleeing the bed where his naked victim lies. He tries live quietly with his guilt, but no amount of self-pity or whiskey can absolve him, and he slowly begins to unravel, despite the unexpected support of the very people he has betrayed: his wife (Stéphane Audran) and his friend (François Périer).
Photo courtesy of Tamasa.
Tuesday, February 10, 2026
Hélène, the local schoolteacher, meets Paul, returning home to take over his family’s butcher business after years away as a soldier with a capacity for violence. Against the provincial background, a courtship begins, and a few locals start turning up dead. Hélène suspects Paul, but the ultimate suspense lays in how she will react when the murderer is revealed.
Tuesday, February 17, 2026
One of Chabrol’s darkest psychological offerings dips into horror territory as virtuous Hélène (Stéphane Audran) is targeted by her filthy-rich father-in-law (Michel Bouquet) when she tries to divorce his abusive son (Jean-Claude Drouot). The director’s ongoing indictment of the bourgeoisie has rarely felt so scathing.
Tuesday, February 24, 2026
In this high-stakes melodrama based on real events, middle-aged Lucienne and Pierre (Stéphane Audran and Michel Piccoli) are consumed by an irresistible attraction, drawn to each other with a kind of reckless urgency. Neither Lucienne’s politician husband nor Pierre’s chronically ill wife are safe from the lovers’ burning-hot desire to be together
“The most brilliant new film of the year.” — Andrew Sarris, The Village Voice
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