Le Corbeau

To begin, what an interesting movie this was. To summarize, the movie goes as such: a town doctor located in France was cast under the spotlight with defamation when letters are mailed to local leaders in the surrounding area – all signed by “Le Corbeau”, an enigmatic figure. Soon the rest of the town begins to receive these letters, each divulging fellow resident’s secrets. Surprisingly enough, director Clouzot managed to offend both the left and the right with this film. Many even deemed it as anti-French – perhaps the reason it was allowed to exist for the short period that it was in theaters was since it was released in Germany, and not France, at the time. Which is a shame, as Clouzot never had the fame he deserved for the film for its extraordinary density of its societal observations, prevailing portrayals, great acting and direction.
One scene that is representative of all the above is the one in which Dr. Vorzet confronts Dr. Germain late one night. As Le Corbeau …show more content…
Notice how the shadow of the light continually changes the appearances of Vorzet and Germain. From the beginning, it was implied to the audience that Germain was an innocent doctor; however from just this scene alone, one starts to differ on how he truly might be – in the various scenes after such, this is cemented more when he confronts other characters as the film draws to a close. Vorzet is seen as more of an adversary in the movie; but just as the light swinging past illuminating him instead of being cast in all shadows, the audience begins to observe him as more innocent than he originally was. Just as vital was the mise-en-scène in this shot. The bleak classroom with the stairwell, allowing Vorzet to leer over Germain, gives a lecturing atmosphere – as if Germain was a naïve student who believed that everything really was black and white, and Vorzet, the teacher, was showing him the