Viola Schlump, alias La Paloma, is a singer whose career looks as if it
may be cut short by tuberculosis. The Count Isidor Palewski is
her greatest admirer. He watches her perform every evening and is
passionately in love with her, but for years she has spurned his
advances. Learning of her illness, Viola relents and allows
herself to become the Count's mistress. Although she no longer
loves the young man as she once did, she finds that his passion has a
restorative effect on her health. She finally agrees to marry him
and live with him on his family estate. One day, she meets Raoul,
a friend of her husband, and becomes his lover. She makes up her
mind to elope with him, but he insists that he has not enough money to
support her. When she turns to her husband, he refuses to help
her. The Count's love for her has its
limits...
Cast: Ingrid Caven (La Paloma),
Peter Kern (Isidore),
Pierre Edernac (Magician),
Bulle Ogier (La mère d'Isidore),
Peter Chatel,
Jérôme Nicolin,
Béatrice Stoll,
Ludmilla Tucek,
Manon,
Irene Olgiatti,
Roland Jouby
Country: Switzerland / France
Language: German / English
Support: Color
Runtime: 112 min
The greatest French film directors
From Jean Renoir to François Truffaut, French cinema has no shortage of truly great filmmakers, each bringing a unique approach to the art of filmmaking.
With so many great films to choose from, it's nigh on impossible to compile a short-list of the best 15 French films of all time - but here's our feeble attempt to do just that.
In the 1940s, the shadowy, skewed visual style of 1920s German expressionism was taken up by directors of American thrillers and psychological dramas, creating that distinctive film noir look.