French cinema: Suspense

Clouzot's cinema: suspense through french eyes

*Text includes spoilers for 'Les Diaboliques', 'Psycho' & 'Le Salaire de la Peur'*

Discovering Clouzot

'The Master of Suspense' label is often attributed to Hitchcock for his thriller and drama films (source). Being a fan of Hitchcock, I was surprised to discover Clouzot's cinema and the parallels between the filmmakers. Indeed, Clouzot's cinema made me rethink seeing Hitchcock as the only ‘Master of suspense’. It felt like the title of ‘Master of Suspense’ should be shared between the two and attributing it to Hitchcock would discredit Clouzot’s cinema and French cinema’s ability to live up to its American counterpart.

Clouzot and Hitchcock have been known to compete for film rights for the same projects. These interactions testify to the competition which existed between French and American cinema, and in particular to French cinema trying to compete on the American stage (source). By watching Clouzot's films, I became aware of the dynamics which existed between the cinema of these two countries (my knowledge of French cinema being previously limited to the New Wave). More specifically, Clouzot’s films testify that French cinema can live up to its American counterpart and even influence it.

Clouzot's suspense: 'Les Diaboliques' *Includes spoilers*

In Les Diaboliques (1955), the final scene showcases Clouzot’s cinematographic proficiency in building suspense. The focus is on an unidentifiable silhouette which we can assume is the dead, or not, husband Michel. This fantom figure is created through the use of dark and light contrasts with doors creaking and opening and an empty dark hallway. The suspense is enhanced by extreme close-ups of hands and body parts. This is found again in the shower scene of Hitchcock's Psycho (1960) where the murderer is also a shadowy non-identifiable figure. The theme also appears in Psycho through the blurring of life and death. The resuscitation of Michel and his presence in the institute like a ghost echoes the mother’s presence through Norman Bates. Whilst Hitchcock does this through Norman’s internalisation of his mother, Clouzot is more subtle as he introduces the boy who sees the supposedly “dead” characters, making death’s uncertainty imminent.

As with Hitchcock, the suspense with Clouzot is held out by stretching time and making the audience wait (source). We follow Christine’s worry that the dead husband is discovered as the boys start playing around the pool where the two women dropped the body. The audience is waiting for and expecting the body’s discovery. This contributes to building suspense as the time of discovery nears and the dead reappear. Thus the parallels between the two filmmakers’ films and Les Diaboliques being produced 5 years before Psycho makes Clouzot Hitchcock’s likely inspiration (source). The popular opinion, here, is that Psycho was Hitchcock's attempt to outperform his rival, Clouzot, in the creation of suspense. 

Another example: 'Le Salaire de la Peur'

Le Salaire de la peur (1953) is also a remarkable demonstration of Clouzot’s creation of suspense. The build-up is translated through sound and visual cues when the four trucker protagonists blow up a boulder blocking the road: Bimba pours the nitro-glycerine, Mario taps his lighter and M. Jo taps the truck. These medium shots then become close-ups of M. Jo’s hands tapping and of Luigi chewing his cigar. The alternating close-ups of Bimba pouring the nitro-glycerine and the tapping echoing the ticking of a clock heightens the scene’s tension in a subtly astounding way.

In this film, Clouzot also plays with premonition. Whilst the road’s danger are outlined through the worries of Mario's lover Linda, the second group of truckers provides an indication of what could go wrong. For instance, the rotten wood on the platform, which breaks when the first group passes, creates a situation where the viewer knows about the dangers Mario and M. Jo ignore. Furthermore, the presence of broken walls and danger signs along the road announce Mario’s death by driving off the road through the wall. These premonitions contribute to Clouzot’s impressive creation of suspense. Le Salaire de la Peur, shows the extent of Clouzot’s craft by creating suspense in a film that is not necessarily associated with the thriller genre as deaths are caused by natural hazards and their psychological effects rather than by homicide or murder (source).

End note

Clouzot's cinema and his work on suspense opened my eyes to another 'Master of Suspense'. Being a fan of Hitchcock films, I did not expect to find a similar mastery of suspense closer to home. Filmmakers like Clouzot testify to the international competition that Hollywood has been faced with, in the 50s. This competition, which we have seen in previous blogposts, rings even more true today with the increased presence of international films at previously 'Hollywood' / American centred events. Overall, the insights this film gave on French cinema's importance, its history and its intercultural influences was remarkable. Indeed, the dynamics between Hollywood and national cinemas (in this case French cinema) have always been more complex than the Hollywood dominant narrative suggests.