has left in life is Anne, to whom he confesses his general malaise and specific crimes. She is ready to accept him but he says he is now incapable of love. In the closing shot, he is alone under a tree caressing a revolver. Cast Philippe Noiret as Lucien Cordier Isabelle Huppert as Rose Jean-Pierre Marielle as Le Peron and his brother Stéphane Audran as Huguette Cordier Eddy Mitchell as Nono Guy Marchand as Marcel Chavasson Irène Skobline as Anne, the teacher Michel Beaune as Vanderbrouck Jean Champion as Priest Victor Garrivier as Mercaillou Gérard Hernandez as Leonelli Abdoulaye Diop as Fête Nat Daniel Langlet as Paulo François Perrot as Colonel Tramichel Raymond Hermantier as Blind man Mamadou Dioumé as Mamadou Samba Mané as Vendredi Reception The film had 2,199,309 admissions in France and was the 16th most attended film of the year. It received the Prix Méliès from the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics and 10 César nominations but did not win any. It received mixed reviews from U.S. and U.K. critics. The New York Times praised the performances and "the meticulousness and conviction on display here" but also added that the film "seems strangely lacking in overall momentum and direction." Roger Ebert called it "a cruel intellectual joke played on its characters" and said the film "left me cold, unmoved and uninvolved." Time Out said "this eccentric, darkly comic look at a series of bizarre murders is stylishly well-crafted, and thoroughly entertaining" and "embellished with black wit and an elegant visual sense." TV Guide called it a "stylish, twisted black comedy... with as dead-on an evocation of a torpid, seedy backwater as anyone has achieved on screen." Awards and honors French Syndicate of Cinema Critics (France) Won: Best Film (tied with Garde à vue) Academy Awards (USA) Nominated: Best Foreign Language Film César Awards (France) Nominated: Best Actor – Leading Role (Philippe Noiret) Nominated: Best Actor – Supporting Role (Jean-Pierre Marielle) Nominated: Best Actor – Supporting Role (Eddy Mitchell) Nominated: Best Actress – Leading Role (Isabelle Huppert) Nominated: Best Actress – Supporting Role (Stéphane Audran) Nominated: Best Director (Bertrand Tavernier) Nominated: Best Editing (Armand Psenny) Nominated: Best Film Nominated: Best Production Design (Alexandre Trauner) Nominated: Best Writing (Jean Aurenche and Bertrand Tavernier) See also Isabelle Huppert on screen and stage List of submissions to the 55th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film List of French submissions for