La Cité de la peur
Encyclopedia
La Cité de la peur, or Le film de Les Nuls, is a French
comedy film
written by the comedy group Les Nuls and directed by Alain Berbérian
in 1994.
The movies parodies
big budget American films (Basic Instinct
, Pretty Woman
and the Terminator
, among others, are directly spoofed) and relies heavily on pun
s and word play
, which makes it somewhat inaccessible for non-French speakers.
Red is Dead, which features a serial killer
whose weapons of choice are the hammer and sickle
. She is invited to the Cannes film festival
, where she is faced with the unanimous opinion that the movie is extremely bad. However, Red is Dead soon attracts the public attention when its projectionist is murdered by what seems to be a copycat
of the movie's killer. Ecstatic, Odile brings the movie's mentally retarded star Simon Jérémi (Farrugia) to the festival and hires bodyguard
and self-proclaimed womanizer Serge Karamazov (Chabat
) to protect them. One by one, all the projectionists assigned to the movie are murdered, keeping Red is Dead in the spotlight. Meanwhile, detective Patrick Biallès (Darmon
) investigates on the murders and starts a romantic relationship with Odile.
) and Ben (Farrugia) congratulate themselves on their defeat of Youri, the communist killer who murdered their entire family, and who is now lying on the floor, apparently dead. Sandy goes to have a bath while Ben cleans the house in preparation for a dinner they have tonight. When Sandy comes out of the bathroom, she is attacked by a very alive Youri. Ben tries to protect her and accidentally kills her. He rushes out of the house and struggles to find the keys to open his convertible car
. When he finally succeeds, the killer is only a few feet away from him. Ben, however, remembers with horror that he has forgotten to turn the vacuum cleaner
off, and runs back to the house, knocking Youri into a conveniently placed petroleum
puddle with the car door. After turning the vacuum cleaner off, he runs back to the car, where a phone call warns him that Youri is standing behind him. Ben fights Youri with his car phone, and manages to send him back into the puddle before setting it on fire.
After Ben drives into the sunset, Youri triumphantly emerges from the puddle and the end credits
roll.
In the theater, Odile Deray asks the viewers what they thought. Everybody leaves without a word, and she chases after a critic and pleads with him to write a favorable article. He refuses on the grounds that the movie is "utter crap". We learn that Odile is the publicist for the movie, and that today is the first day of the Cannes film festival
. Odile visits the projectionist (Karyo
) and briefly talks with him while he argues on the phone with his wife. After Odile leaves, the projectionist is murdered by a hammer and sickle wielding killer.
). While the widow mourns her husband and reminisces their last argument, Odile realizes she can use the murder for publicity, and decides to bring the film's star to the festival, and to hire a bodyguard.
In a hotel room, a man watches the news on television. A deputy was murdered, and the main suspect is a politician called Jean-Paul Martoni. When the projectionist's murder is brought up, the man turns the TV off.
In Paris
, Serge Karamazov unsuccessfully tries to talk his boss's secretary into letting him sleep with her. She ignores him and tells him to go in to talk to his boss. While playing various sports, Karamazov's boss reminds him that his job description does not include having sex with his clients, and instructs him to go to Cannes
to protect Simon Jérémi, Red is Deads main star.
At the Nice
airport, Karamazov meets Odile, and the two see Simon arrive, wielding a balloon and a nametag, and accompanied by a stewardess. Once in the car, Odile tells Simon of all the exciting things he is going to do in Cannes, prompting Simon to throw up. He explains that he throws up whenever he is really happy.
While Karamazov and Simon get to the Martinez hotel and are taken to their room, a second projectionist (Gélin
) is murdered in the same fashion as the first one.
In the projection room, Odile discovers the body and calls the police. Commissaire Biallès soon arrives and is introduced by a short documentary movie about his life thus far. Simon and Karamazov arrive at the scene. Karamazov tells a police officer of his frustration at having to babysit Simon, and Simon, excited to see a Kinoton movie projector
, throws up. Biallès wonders about the meaning of the letters found carved on the wall after both murders, an O and a D, and concludes that they spell "do
", leading him to believe that the killer is a musician.
At the police headquarters, Odile is being interrogated in a scene parodying Basic Instinct
(instead of smoking, Odile is eating sauerkraut
). As Commissaire Biallès tells Odile of his suspicion that she planned the murders as a publicity stunt
, another policeman comes in with a new piece of information: he found a piece of fabric on the scene of the crime.
Back in the unnamed man's hotel room, the man is once again watching the news, and as he passes in front of a mirror, his face is revealed.
parody.
Later, at the press conference, Odile scolds two women who are loudly gossiping, and the projection starts.
Meanwhile, Karamazov is in the projection room to protect the projectionist (Bacri
) against the killer. Karamazov, however, has food poisoning, and is passing foul gas, which prompts the projectionist to send him away to the bathroom. On his way, Karamazov meets an old flame, and they make awkward small talk. In the projection room, the projectionist is murdered.
Karamazov sees the killer run away, and chases after him. However, he is stopped by a group of mime
s protesting against sound film
s, and the killer gets away.
and Simon tries on outfits. Everybody gathers around the TV when a report about Red is Dead is shown on the news. It features an interview of Odile and Simon at a party held in the honour of the murdered projectionists, during which Simon, once again, throws up.
Later, at the Martinez, Odile meets Biallès for dinner. Odile talks about her life before Red is Dead, and as sexual tension
quickly builds up between the two, they leave for Biallès's apartment.
At a night club, Simon finds Karamazov completely drunk and ranting about his inability to seduce Odile.
Meanwhile, at Bialles's apartment, the two have just had sex, and Odile accidentally discovers the killer's costume in a wardrobe. Horrified, she rushes to the night club, where she finds Karamazov enthusiastically insulting her.
The next scene starts with a disclaimer stating that, because of budgetary limits, it will be entirely dubbed
by the crew, including sound effect
s. Amidst arguments and chit chat by the dubbers, the fourth projectionist (Mitchell
) is killed, and the killer accidentally cuts his own finger. Another disclaimer then informs the viewer that the dubbed scene is over.
, and theorizes that the killer may be a cabaret
dancer. He then proceeds to explain that the murderer is probably a serial killer
, and that he has designed a giant mousetrap
to catch him.
His explanations are interrupted by the arrival of the new projectionist, the unnamed man who was seen watching the news all throughout the movie: it's Emile Gravier (Karmann), an old friend of Odile's. The camera dramatically zooms on Emile's finger, which is wrapped in a bandage.
Odile and Emile reminisce about their youth, the latter much more enthusiastically than the former.
Later, the awards ceremony is about to start, and Odile, Karamazov, Simon and Emile are in a Limousine
, getting ready to climb the famous stairs to the Palais des festivals. Odile offers Emile chewing gum, which prompts him to remember, in a flashback
, the way Odile always neglected him for her boyfriends, while he was secretely in love with her.
The four get out of the car and make their way up the stairs. Suddenly, Jean-Paul Martoni, who has been convicted of the deputy's murder, arrives and, threatening the crowd with a gun, runs into the building. Emile, under enormous stress, passes out.
Once inside, Odile panics about Emile's inconsciousness, which leaves her with no projectionist. Simon reveals that he can project Red is Dead, having been trained as a projectionist, and adds "because, you see, I'm not really an actor!".
While Simon prepares to start projecting the movie, the crowd is getting impatient. Odile instructs Karamazov to distract them, and he and Biallès launch in an "improvised" musical number about the Carioca, which the public loves.
The movie starts playing, and they get off the stage. Biallès is reminded of Martoni's presence inside the building, and goes after him.
In the projection room, Simon is attacked by Emile, who reveals that he killed all the previous projectionists in an attempt to get Odile's attention. After Simon offers Emile some chewing gum, the two struggle and knock the projector around.
In the theater, Odile is horrified to notice that the wrong reel has been launched, and instructs Karamazov to go check on Simon. Karamazov finds Emile and Simon in a struggle, and exclaims "Simon, so it was you all along! I knew it!", letting Emile escape. A frustrated Simon explains that Emile is the killer.
Simon and Karamazov chase after Emile, only to discover him caught in Karamazov's giant mouse trap. Odile and Biallès arrive and learn the killer's identity. Odile inquires about the costume she found in Biallès's apartment, but his explanation is covered by loud music. The two reconcile, but suddenly, Martoni storms in and takes Odile hostage
. After shooting Biallès in the knee, Martoni is knocked out by Emile, who managed to get out of the trap. Emile starts to explain himself, but is shot by Martoni. As he lays dying, Odile offers him chewing gum.
Martoni is arrested and Biallès is carried away on a gurney; he reassures Odile that he will be able to walk again, but she tells him she is only worried about her movie.
Outside, Karamazov once again wonders about the letters, O, D, I, L.
Odile, Simon and Karamazov walk away. When Simon says that he is hungry and would be happy to eat Chinese, Karamazov and Odile agree to go to an Italian restaurant.
A number of celebrities make cameo appearances as themselves, including Rosanna Arquette
, Dave
, James Cameron
, Pierre Lescure and Patrice Laffont.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
written by the comedy group Les Nuls and directed by Alain Berbérian
Alain Berbérian
Alain Berbérian is a French film director and writer of Armenian descent.-Filmography:Director:* 1989 : ABCD Nuls , with Les Nuls* 1990 : Histoire de la télévision , with Les Nuls...
in 1994.
The movies parodies
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
big budget American films (Basic Instinct
Basic Instinct
Basic Instinct is a 1992 erotic thriller directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Joe Eszterhas, and starring Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone....
, Pretty Woman
Pretty Woman
Pretty Woman is a 1990 romantic comedy film set in Los Angeles, California. Written by J.F. Lawton and directed by Garry Marshall, this motion picture features Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, and also Hector Elizondo, Ralph Bellamy, and Jason Alexander in supporting roles. Roberts played the only...
and the Terminator
The Terminator
The Terminator is a 1984 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron, co-written by Cameron and William Wisher Jr., and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, and Linda Hamilton. The film was produced by Hemdale Film Corporation and distributed by Orion Pictures, and filmed in Los...
, among others, are directly spoofed) and relies heavily on pun
Pun
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
s and word play
Word play
Word play or wordplay is a literary technique in which the words that are used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement...
, which makes it somewhat inaccessible for non-French speakers.
Synopsis
Odile Deray (Lauby) is the publicist for the slasher movieSlasher film
A slasher film is a type of horror film typically involving a psychopathic killer stalking and killing a sequence of victims in a graphically violent manner, often with a cutting tool such as a knife or axe...
Red is Dead, which features a serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
whose weapons of choice are the hammer and sickle
Hammer and sickle
The hammer and sickle is a part of communist symbolism and its usage indicates an association with Communism, a Communist party, or a Communist state. It features a hammer and a sickle overlapping each other. The two tools are symbols of the industrial proletariat and the peasantry; placing them...
. She is invited to the Cannes film festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
, where she is faced with the unanimous opinion that the movie is extremely bad. However, Red is Dead soon attracts the public attention when its projectionist is murdered by what seems to be a copycat
Copycat crimes
A copycat crime is a criminal act that is modelled or inspired by a previous crime that has been reported in the media or described in fiction.-Copycat effect:...
of the movie's killer. Ecstatic, Odile brings the movie's mentally retarded star Simon Jérémi (Farrugia) to the festival and hires bodyguard
Bodyguard
A bodyguard is a type of security operative or government agent who protects a person—usually a famous, wealthy, or politically important figure—from assault, kidnapping, assassination, stalking, loss of confidential information, terrorist attack or other threats.Most important public figures such...
and self-proclaimed womanizer Serge Karamazov (Chabat
Alain Chabat
Alain Chabat is a French actor and director who appeared in La Cité de la peur, French Twist, The Taste of Others and The Science of Sleep.- Life and career :Chabat was born in Oran, French Algeria. He is Jewish....
) to protect them. One by one, all the projectionists assigned to the movie are murdered, keeping Red is Dead in the spotlight. Meanwhile, detective Patrick Biallès (Darmon
Gérard Darmon
Gérard Darmon is a French movie actor and singer.Second husband to Mathilda May.He has three children: Virginie and the last two by Mathilda May, daughter Sarah and son Jules...
) investigates on the murders and starts a romantic relationship with Odile.
First day of the festival
The film opens with the last minutes of Red is Dead. In their bloody house, Sandy (de FougerollesHélène de Fougerolles
Hélène Christine Rigoine de Fougerolles is a French actress. She is the daughter of Alain Rigoine de Fougerolles and Anne Saumay de Laval. Initially planning to become a beautician, she began to study acting at age 15. She later attended acting classes in Paris and briefly at the Actors Studio...
) and Ben (Farrugia) congratulate themselves on their defeat of Youri, the communist killer who murdered their entire family, and who is now lying on the floor, apparently dead. Sandy goes to have a bath while Ben cleans the house in preparation for a dinner they have tonight. When Sandy comes out of the bathroom, she is attacked by a very alive Youri. Ben tries to protect her and accidentally kills her. He rushes out of the house and struggles to find the keys to open his convertible car
Convertible
A convertible is a type of automobile in which the roof can retract and fold away having windows which wind-down inside the doors, converting it from an enclosed to an open-air vehicle...
. When he finally succeeds, the killer is only a few feet away from him. Ben, however, remembers with horror that he has forgotten to turn the vacuum cleaner
Vacuum cleaner
A vacuum cleaner, commonly referred to as a "vacuum," is a device that uses an air pump to create a partial vacuum to suck up dust and dirt, usually from floors, and optionally from other surfaces as well. The dirt is collected by either a dustbag or a cyclone for later disposal...
off, and runs back to the house, knocking Youri into a conveniently placed petroleum
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
puddle with the car door. After turning the vacuum cleaner off, he runs back to the car, where a phone call warns him that Youri is standing behind him. Ben fights Youri with his car phone, and manages to send him back into the puddle before setting it on fire.
After Ben drives into the sunset, Youri triumphantly emerges from the puddle and the end credits
End Credits
"End Credits" is the first single from Drum and Bass duo Chase & Status' second studio album No More Idols. The single was co-written, co-produced and features vocals from Plan B and was released on 29 October 2009, reaching a peak position of No. 9 in the UK Singles Chart...
roll.
In the theater, Odile Deray asks the viewers what they thought. Everybody leaves without a word, and she chases after a critic and pleads with him to write a favorable article. He refuses on the grounds that the movie is "utter crap". We learn that Odile is the publicist for the movie, and that today is the first day of the Cannes film festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
. Odile visits the projectionist (Karyo
Tchéky Karyo
-Early life:Karyo was born in Istanbul to a Greek mother and Sephardic-Jewish father and raised in Paris, France. He studied drama at the Cyrano Theatre and later became a member of the Daniel Sorano Company, playing many classical roles.-Career:...
) and briefly talks with him while he argues on the phone with his wife. After Odile leaves, the projectionist is murdered by a hammer and sickle wielding killer.
Second day of the festival
Odile is talking with the projectionist's widow (LemercierValérie Lemercier
Valérie Lemercier is a French actress, scriptwriter, director and singer.-Biography:Born in Dieppe, Seine-Maritime as the daughter of farmers, she grew up in Gonzeville and then studied at the Rouen Conservatoire - a dance, music and drama school. Lemercier made her screen debut in 1988, in the...
). While the widow mourns her husband and reminisces their last argument, Odile realizes she can use the murder for publicity, and decides to bring the film's star to the festival, and to hire a bodyguard.
In a hotel room, a man watches the news on television. A deputy was murdered, and the main suspect is a politician called Jean-Paul Martoni. When the projectionist's murder is brought up, the man turns the TV off.
In Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Serge Karamazov unsuccessfully tries to talk his boss's secretary into letting him sleep with her. She ignores him and tells him to go in to talk to his boss. While playing various sports, Karamazov's boss reminds him that his job description does not include having sex with his clients, and instructs him to go to Cannes
Cannes
Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
to protect Simon Jérémi, Red is Deads main star.
At the Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
airport, Karamazov meets Odile, and the two see Simon arrive, wielding a balloon and a nametag, and accompanied by a stewardess. Once in the car, Odile tells Simon of all the exciting things he is going to do in Cannes, prompting Simon to throw up. He explains that he throws up whenever he is really happy.
While Karamazov and Simon get to the Martinez hotel and are taken to their room, a second projectionist (Gélin
Daniel Gélin
Daniel Yves Alfred Gélin was a French actor, occasional director and screenwriter.-Early life:Gélin was born in Angers, Maine-et-Loire. When he was 10 his family moved to Saint-Malo where Daniel went to college until he was expelled for 'uncouthness'. His father then found him a job in a shop that...
) is murdered in the same fashion as the first one.
In the projection room, Odile discovers the body and calls the police. Commissaire Biallès soon arrives and is introduced by a short documentary movie about his life thus far. Simon and Karamazov arrive at the scene. Karamazov tells a police officer of his frustration at having to babysit Simon, and Simon, excited to see a Kinoton movie projector
Movie projector
A movie projector is an opto-mechanical device for displaying moving pictures by projecting them on a projection screen. Most of the optical and mechanical elements, except for the illumination and sound devices, are present in movie cameras.-Physiology:...
, throws up. Biallès wonders about the meaning of the letters found carved on the wall after both murders, an O and a D, and concludes that they spell "do
Major scale
In music theory, the major scale or Ionian scale is one of the diatonic scales. It is made up of seven distinct notes, plus an eighth which duplicates the first an octave higher. In solfege these notes correspond to the syllables "Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti/Si, ", the "Do" in the parenthesis at...
", leading him to believe that the killer is a musician.
At the police headquarters, Odile is being interrogated in a scene parodying Basic Instinct
Basic Instinct
Basic Instinct is a 1992 erotic thriller directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Joe Eszterhas, and starring Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone....
(instead of smoking, Odile is eating sauerkraut
Sauerkraut
Sauerkraut , directly translated from German: "sour cabbage", is finely shredded cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria, including Leuconostoc, Lactobacillus, and Pediococcus. It has a long shelf-life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid...
). As Commissaire Biallès tells Odile of his suspicion that she planned the murders as a publicity stunt
Publicity stunt
A publicity stunt is a planned event designed to attract the public's attention to the event's organizers or their cause. Publicity stunts can be professionally organized or set up by amateurs...
, another policeman comes in with a new piece of information: he found a piece of fabric on the scene of the crime.
Back in the unnamed man's hotel room, the man is once again watching the news, and as he passes in front of a mirror, his face is revealed.
Third day of the festival
At the Martinez, Odile instructs Karamazov and Simon to hurry and get ready for the press conference, which starts in an hour. Upon realizing that Simon doesn't have anything to wear, Odile and Karamazov take him shopping in an obvious Pretty WomanPretty Woman
Pretty Woman is a 1990 romantic comedy film set in Los Angeles, California. Written by J.F. Lawton and directed by Garry Marshall, this motion picture features Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, and also Hector Elizondo, Ralph Bellamy, and Jason Alexander in supporting roles. Roberts played the only...
parody.
Later, at the press conference, Odile scolds two women who are loudly gossiping, and the projection starts.
Meanwhile, Karamazov is in the projection room to protect the projectionist (Bacri
Jean-Pierre Bacri
Jean-Pierre Bacri is a French actor and screenwriter who frequently works in collaboration with Agnès Jaoui.-Life:One of his earliest film appearances was Subway...
) against the killer. Karamazov, however, has food poisoning, and is passing foul gas, which prompts the projectionist to send him away to the bathroom. On his way, Karamazov meets an old flame, and they make awkward small talk. In the projection room, the projectionist is murdered.
Karamazov sees the killer run away, and chases after him. However, he is stopped by a group of mime
Mime artist
A mime artist is someone who uses mime as a theatrical medium or as a performance art, involving miming, or the acting out a story through body motions, without use of speech. In earlier times, in English, such a performer was referred to as a mummer...
s protesting against sound film
Sound film
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades would pass before sound motion pictures were made commercially...
s, and the killer gets away.
Fourth day of the festival
Odile is making preparations for the next projection, while Karamazov demonstrates his new hi-tech metal detectorMetal detector
A metal detector is a device which responds to metal that may not be readily apparent.The simplest form of a metal detector consists of an oscillator producing an alternating current that passes through a coil producing an alternating magnetic field...
and Simon tries on outfits. Everybody gathers around the TV when a report about Red is Dead is shown on the news. It features an interview of Odile and Simon at a party held in the honour of the murdered projectionists, during which Simon, once again, throws up.
Later, at the Martinez, Odile meets Biallès for dinner. Odile talks about her life before Red is Dead, and as sexual tension
Sexual tension
Sexual tension is a social phenomenon that occurs when two people interact and one or both feel sexual desire, but the consummation is postponed or never happens....
quickly builds up between the two, they leave for Biallès's apartment.
At a night club, Simon finds Karamazov completely drunk and ranting about his inability to seduce Odile.
Meanwhile, at Bialles's apartment, the two have just had sex, and Odile accidentally discovers the killer's costume in a wardrobe. Horrified, she rushes to the night club, where she finds Karamazov enthusiastically insulting her.
The next scene starts with a disclaimer stating that, because of budgetary limits, it will be entirely dubbed
Dubbing (filmmaking)
Dubbing is the post-production process of recording and replacing voices on a motion picture or television soundtrack subsequent to the original shooting. The term most commonly refers to the substitution of the voices of the actors shown on the screen by those of different performers, who may be...
by the crew, including sound effect
Sound effect
For the album by The Jam, see Sound Affects.Sound effects or audio effects are artificially created or enhanced sounds, or sound processes used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media...
s. Amidst arguments and chit chat by the dubbers, the fourth projectionist (Mitchell
Eddy Mitchell
Eddy Mitchell is a French singer and actor. He began his career in the late 1950s, with the group Les Chaussettes Noires , taking his name from the American expatriate tough-guy actor Eddie Constantine...
) is killed, and the killer accidentally cuts his own finger. Another disclaimer then informs the viewer that the dubbed scene is over.
Fifth and last day of the festival
At the hotel's restaurant, Odile is briefing Simon about his scheduled interviews. Karamazov arrives, and Odile tells him she has found the next projectionist, who will be joining them. They argue about Karamazov's behaviour in the night club, and Odile reveals that she thinks Biallès is the murderer. Karamazov muses about the letters left by the killer: they are now O, D, I and L. Karamazov wonders if it spells LidoLe Lido
Le Lido is a cabaret and burlesque house on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, France, famous for its exotic shows, which rival those of Las Vegas and where Elvis Presley gave an impromptu concert...
, and theorizes that the killer may be a cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
dancer. He then proceeds to explain that the murderer is probably a serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
, and that he has designed a giant mousetrap
Mousetrap
A mousetrap is a specialized type of animal trap designed primarily to catch mice; however, it may also trap other small animals. Mousetraps are usually set in an indoor location where there is a suspected infestation of rodents. There are various types of mousetrap, each with its own advantages...
to catch him.
His explanations are interrupted by the arrival of the new projectionist, the unnamed man who was seen watching the news all throughout the movie: it's Emile Gravier (Karmann), an old friend of Odile's. The camera dramatically zooms on Emile's finger, which is wrapped in a bandage.
Odile and Emile reminisce about their youth, the latter much more enthusiastically than the former.
Later, the awards ceremony is about to start, and Odile, Karamazov, Simon and Emile are in a Limousine
Limousine
A limousine is a luxury sedan or saloon car, especially one with a lengthened wheelbase or driven by a chauffeur. The chassis of a limousine may have been extended by the manufacturer or by an independent coachbuilder. These are called "stretch" limousines and are traditionally black or white....
, getting ready to climb the famous stairs to the Palais des festivals. Odile offers Emile chewing gum, which prompts him to remember, in a flashback
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
, the way Odile always neglected him for her boyfriends, while he was secretely in love with her.
The four get out of the car and make their way up the stairs. Suddenly, Jean-Paul Martoni, who has been convicted of the deputy's murder, arrives and, threatening the crowd with a gun, runs into the building. Emile, under enormous stress, passes out.
Once inside, Odile panics about Emile's inconsciousness, which leaves her with no projectionist. Simon reveals that he can project Red is Dead, having been trained as a projectionist, and adds "because, you see, I'm not really an actor!".
While Simon prepares to start projecting the movie, the crowd is getting impatient. Odile instructs Karamazov to distract them, and he and Biallès launch in an "improvised" musical number about the Carioca, which the public loves.
The movie starts playing, and they get off the stage. Biallès is reminded of Martoni's presence inside the building, and goes after him.
In the projection room, Simon is attacked by Emile, who reveals that he killed all the previous projectionists in an attempt to get Odile's attention. After Simon offers Emile some chewing gum, the two struggle and knock the projector around.
In the theater, Odile is horrified to notice that the wrong reel has been launched, and instructs Karamazov to go check on Simon. Karamazov finds Emile and Simon in a struggle, and exclaims "Simon, so it was you all along! I knew it!", letting Emile escape. A frustrated Simon explains that Emile is the killer.
Simon and Karamazov chase after Emile, only to discover him caught in Karamazov's giant mouse trap. Odile and Biallès arrive and learn the killer's identity. Odile inquires about the costume she found in Biallès's apartment, but his explanation is covered by loud music. The two reconcile, but suddenly, Martoni storms in and takes Odile hostage
Hostage
A hostage is a person or entity which is held by a captor. The original definition meant that this was handed over by one of two belligerent parties to the other or seized as security for the carrying out of an agreement, or as a preventive measure against certain acts of war...
. After shooting Biallès in the knee, Martoni is knocked out by Emile, who managed to get out of the trap. Emile starts to explain himself, but is shot by Martoni. As he lays dying, Odile offers him chewing gum.
Martoni is arrested and Biallès is carried away on a gurney; he reassures Odile that he will be able to walk again, but she tells him she is only worried about her movie.
Outside, Karamazov once again wonders about the letters, O, D, I, L.
Odile, Simon and Karamazov walk away. When Simon says that he is hungry and would be happy to eat Chinese, Karamazov and Odile agree to go to an Italian restaurant.
Cast
- Alain ChabatAlain ChabatAlain Chabat is a French actor and director who appeared in La Cité de la peur, French Twist, The Taste of Others and The Science of Sleep.- Life and career :Chabat was born in Oran, French Algeria. He is Jewish....
as Serge Karamazov - Dominique Farrugia as Simon Jérémi/Ben
- Chantal Lauby as Odile Deray
- Gérard DarmonGérard DarmonGérard Darmon is a French movie actor and singer.Second husband to Mathilda May.He has three children: Virginie and the last two by Mathilda May, daughter Sarah and son Jules...
as Patrick Biallès - Sam Karmann as Emile Gravier
- Jean-Christophe BouvetJean-Christophe BouvetJean-Christophe Bouvet is a French actor, film director and writer.-Filmography as actor:*1977 : La Machine directed by Paul Vecchiali*1977 : Le théâtre des matières directed by Jean-Claude Biette...
as Jean-Paul Martoni - Hélène de FougerollesHélène de FougerollesHélène Christine Rigoine de Fougerolles is a French actress. She is the daughter of Alain Rigoine de Fougerolles and Anne Saumay de Laval. Initially planning to become a beautician, she began to study acting at age 15. She later attended acting classes in Paris and briefly at the Actors Studio...
as Sandy - Valérie LemercierValérie LemercierValérie Lemercier is a French actress, scriptwriter, director and singer.-Biography:Born in Dieppe, Seine-Maritime as the daughter of farmers, she grew up in Gonzeville and then studied at the Rouen Conservatoire - a dance, music and drama school. Lemercier made her screen debut in 1988, in the...
as the widow - Tchéky KaryoTchéky Karyo-Early life:Karyo was born in Istanbul to a Greek mother and Sephardic-Jewish father and raised in Paris, France. He studied drama at the Cyrano Theatre and later became a member of the Daniel Sorano Company, playing many classical roles.-Career:...
as the first projectionist - Daniel GélinDaniel GélinDaniel Yves Alfred Gélin was a French actor, occasional director and screenwriter.-Early life:Gélin was born in Angers, Maine-et-Loire. When he was 10 his family moved to Saint-Malo where Daniel went to college until he was expelled for 'uncouthness'. His father then found him a job in a shop that...
as the second projectionist - Jean-Pierre BacriJean-Pierre BacriJean-Pierre Bacri is a French actor and screenwriter who frequently works in collaboration with Agnès Jaoui.-Life:One of his earliest film appearances was Subway...
as the third projectionist - Eddy MitchellEddy MitchellEddy Mitchell is a French singer and actor. He began his career in the late 1950s, with the group Les Chaussettes Noires , taking his name from the American expatriate tough-guy actor Eddie Constantine...
as the fourth projectionist
A number of celebrities make cameo appearances as themselves, including Rosanna Arquette
Rosanna Arquette
Rosanna Lauren Arquette is an American actress, film director, and producer.-Early life:Arquette was born in New York City, the daughter of Brenda Olivia "Mardi" , an actress, poet, theater operator, activist, acting teacher, and therapist, and Lewis Arquette, an actor and director. Her paternal...
, Dave
Dave (singer)
Dave is the stage name of Wouter Otto Levenbach , a Francophone singer from the Netherlands who had a string of number one hits in France in the 1970s. Despite his great success, he is still virtually unknown in his country of origin.-Biography:His father was Jewish and a professor of English by...
, James Cameron
James Cameron
James Francis Cameron is a Canadian-American film director, film producer, screenwriter, editor, environmentalist and inventor...
, Pierre Lescure and Patrice Laffont.
External links
- La Cité de la peur at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
- A fan website (in French)