CKB
Cop au vin begins a new set of movies in which Chabrol focuses satirically on the indiscreet charms of small-town bourgeoisie. Chabrol was a gourmet chef, and the film's cooking-inspired title in France, Poulet au vinaigre, refers to Inspector Lavardin's harsh ways of getting reticent locals to talk (poulet is French slang for cop). The film has an edgy sense of danger (and humor) right from the start, and many surprises await the viewer. In an inspired satiric stroke, Chabrol has plucked the clueless moped-riding young mail carrier from the recent hit movie Diva -- a fantasy in which he has a wildly cool Parisian apartment, obsesses over an opera singer, and is saved by a mysterious rich guy who pops up at just the right moments -- and has plopped him into painful reality, living miserably in a dumb little town with his domineering crippled mother, obsessed with spying on some local hot shots nastily trying to drive them out of their house to nail a sleazy real estate deal, and this time his savior is the 'vinegary' Inspector. Look for smart acting and intelligent camera work here, with an interestingly-applied musical score by Chabrol's son Matthieu. Chabrol's 2nd wife, Stéphane Audran, plays the mail carrier's deranged mom.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
10/30/22
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Audience Member
The original French title of this movie — Poulet au vinaigre — means vinegar chicken, but poulet also means cop, so it's a play on words. The detective film that results, the first several appearances of Inspecteur Jean Lavardin (Jean Poiret), takes the notions of the genre and gives it the spin that director Claude Chabrol is so famous for.
Three men in a small town — a lawyer named Lavoisier (Michel Bouquet), Dr. Morasseau (Jean Topart) and Filiol the butcher (Jean-Claude Bouillaud) — have been conspiring to take the house of Louis Cuno (Lucas Belvaux) and his invalid mother. They continually harass the twosome and take away any joy from their life, so after one particularly bad encounter, Louis puts sugar in the gas tank of the butcher, which leads to a fatal accident and brings Lavardin to town.
That's just the start of the story, as Lavoisier's mistress Anna (Caroline Cellier) and Morasseau's wife Delphine (Josephine Chaplin), who make an odd couple, but both quickly vanish. And then a statue of a nue Delphone shows up in the doctor's garden and a charred body in another car wreck. It seems like this town has more than its share of secrets.
Stéphane Audran, who plays Madame Cuno, also appears in the TV spin-off Les dossiers secrets de l'inspecteur Lavardin: L'escargot noir as a different character. She was married to Chabrol from 1964 to 1980 and obviously continued working with his professionally after. Their son Thomas appeared in many of his father's movies and has become a director and screenwriter himself.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/06/23
Full Review
camille l
Poulet au Vinaigre est assez long à démarrer, ne se concentre pas sur les personnages les plus intéressants et semble être fait par un sale gosse qui veut juste taper dans le tas. Cependant, lors que Claude Chabrol tape juste, il tape très juste. Lorsqu'il veut taper sur la bourgeoisie provinciale, il est totalement dans son élément. Il est alors dommage qu'il ne veuille faire que cela pendant quasiment 2 heures, à défaut de raconter une histoire cohérente ou de s'appuyer sur ses meilleurs acteurs (Caroline Cellier, Jean Poiret et Jacques Frantz). Non, il lui faut absolument être subversif, à la limite de l'incompétence. On espère qu'il ait été heureux de son film, car un tel gâchis, c'est rare à voir.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
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Audience Member
Por que ya no hacen este tipo de films ahora???
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/15/23
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Audience Member
A rather over-complicated plot featuring corrupt small-town officials collectively trying to force a house sale, a mistress, a possessive mother confined to a wheelchair, her postman son playing amateur detective. The rather clunky first half-hour thankfully gives way to the introduction of Inspector Lavardin (a wonderful amused performance by Jean Poiret) and the plot starts to kick in. Worth sticking with.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/27/23
Full Review
Audience Member
With the passing of Claude Chabrol we have lost one of the true greats of Cinema and this 1985 film shows Chabrol firing on all cylinders.
Again the subject is smalltown France and Muders desire and intrigue which only a master such as Chabrol could conjur up.
When 3 rather nasty property developers attempt to grab some land belonging to a crippled woman and her postman son what follows is a nasty car accident a missing wife and a brutal murder.
When Inspector Lavardin arrives on the scene he begins to dole out his own type of justice by bullying suspects into giving answers.
Jean Poiret is marvellous as the fried egg eating Lavardin who will break a few laws to get justice if he has to.
Chabrol loves this story and he really is on full mode here which means i throughly enjoyed it ,now im going to watch the sequel and see what thats like Top Grade stuff
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/23/23
Full Review
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