Coup de torchon (Widescreen)

 

 

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This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.

Coup de Torchon, known also as "Clean Slate" is better translated as "Wipe of the Cloth" as a cloth would clean a slate chalkboard.

This film is set in the year 1938 on the eve of World War II and is about a recist white policeman in Senegal, (then called French West Africa) who always looks the other way when a crime is committed. One day he goes berserk and starts killing people.

I found this movie to be boring but loved the scenery of the village.

The DVD has a US theatrical trailer for a special feature along with an interview with the director and an alternate ending presented by the director.

Very unusual movie. I was unprepared for such a strange story. Only after the movie was over did I glimpse Jim Thompson's name in the credits and it dawned on me so that is what I have been watching. Thompson's name is synonymous with hard-boiled noir and if you like that genre then this is for you though the setting will throw even the most ardent noir fan for a bit of a loop. Noir in Africa? Phillips Noiret plays the sherrif of a West African town in the thrall of the worst kind of colonialism. Unforunately he's not much of a law and order man. In fact he is completely ineffective at administering any kind of justice whatsoever. Blacks are brutally mistreated right in front of him and he does nothing. Hes the sherrif only in name and at home he is abused by his wife played by Stephane Audran who does not hide the fact she is sleeping with her live-in "brother". The sherriff takes all kinds of abuse til one day he reaches his breaking point. He decides he's had enough and so he begins administering his own brand of "justice". In a western movie or in a gritty American noir this kind of scenario would seem commonplace but not in the middle of sunny Africa. Noirs aren't supposed to be exposed to sunlight, are they? The novel was set in the American South but Tavernier decided he would transplant the story in African soil. Its a film that is hard to fathom. I believe it takes at least one viewing to get used to the idea of an African Noir and then another to see just what Tavernier is up to. So I would highly recommend anyone see the film twice before making up their mind about it. One thing is undoubtedly certain and that is the acting. The performances by Noiret, Audran, and Isabelle Huppert(one of her most stunning vacant faced roles) are perfect and the most fascinating aspect of the film is watchng each unwind. Even those who don't normally have a taste for noir will find this very dark comedy quite compelling. On first viewing I felt there was something missing like at least one strong black character but then I realized on second viewing that that is part of the power of this comedy. These characters are so selfish it matters very little to them where they are. And so the abscence of black characters and the abscence of any interaction between whites and blacks except on the most superficial and degrading terms underlines the utter selfishness of the whites. The blacks going about their business largely ignored by the whites offer a subtle comparison. The blacks live humane lives. The whites are only capable of committing crimes against each other. If you are part of the white community in such circumstances you become corrupt if not for what you yourself do for what you refuse to see as the underlying injustice of the circumstance you see and participate in everyday. The circumstance is a timebomb. Noiret as the sherrif is the one who goes off. He acts out against white hate and anger and bigotry only to become infected himself by those very properties. So at first I was unsure but ultimately I marveled at what Tavernier did with this noir material. He gave the material the very dimension it lacked, a social dimension. By placing this noir in a strikingly new context the typical noir theme (being the darkness of human nature) is given a more specific context and scope (the darkness of colonial mans nature). Tavernier brings new life and significance to the commonplaces of Thompsons fiction and more importantly he brings a new approach and new insight to the colonial predicament.

I am mainly disappointed with the Yank reviews - did they read Jim Thompson at all? Yeah - the PULP FICTION movie is great for them but not the real "pulp fiction". It would be a surprise if Tavernier did a "Martin Eden" or "Iron Heel" and folks would label it "pulp fiction" as well. How about "Les Miserables", huh ? A pulp fiction ? Let's go on and on...
Get fiction in the wrong hands and you have a disaster right away, say Sir Spielberg, as an example, he's the master of the "hokey", lately.
This film proves the ages old wisdom that good films are made of mediocre novels, like "The Informer", "The Shop on Main Street" etc., while the great script of classical "belles lettres" remain beyond reach of the infantile contemporaries.

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3.0 out of 5 stars An excellent but difficult film - Coup de Torchon
Philippe Noiret's character, quintessentially French, sardonic, funny and witty is sometimes overwhelmed by the pace and setting of this film. Read more

Published on Feb 18 2002 by Jerome Hunt

4.0 out of 5 stars Uneven But Good Night's Viewing
Philippe Noiret generally did an outstanding acting job in all the films I've seen him. This one is no exception. Read more

Published on May 18 2001 by carol irvin

5.0 out of 5 stars TERMINATORIX
When they are on location, film directors usually tend to forget the actors in order to become for a while only still photographers. Read more

Published on April 11 2001 by Daniel S.

5.0 out of 5 stars understated excellence
This is the best film adaptation of Jim Thompson to date, and a marvellous film beside that fact. Tavernier knows the book throughout but doesn't bow to it; he builds his own... Read more

Published on April 2 2001 by albemuth

3.0 out of 5 stars Not for all tastes, even Thompson fans
Based on Thompson's book Pop 1280 (brilliant, short, haunting, and like no other book I've ever read), I believe this to be a very failed attempt. Read more

Published on Mar 13 2001 by Kevin S. Moody

5.0 out of 5 stars Chilling, Funny Neo-Noir Masterpiece
This is the film version of Jim Thompson's dark comedy "Pop. 1280" transplanted from Texas to French-colonial Africa. Read more

Published on July 20 2000 by R. W. Rasband

5.0 out of 5 stars best movie in the world
just as in Shakespeare, everybody dies, and we are very happy about it. Noiret and Eddy Mitchel are excellent, disturbing

Published on April 10 2000 by Christian Dutari

5.0 out of 5 stars A Lot Better Than The Book
Great Movie. Sub-titles are humorous as you listen to the French and read the English.

Published on Mar 19 1999

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