Death in a French Garden (1985) Péril en la demeure

Director: Michel Deville
Writers: René Belletto (novel), Michel Deville
Stars: Anémone, Richard Bohringer, Nicole Garcia

A magnate and his younger wife hire David to teach guitar to their teenage daughter. The wife quickly seduces David, and simultaneously he strikes up an acquaintance with the family's inquisitive neighbor. One night, David is mugged but rescued from injury by a stranger, Daniel, who also becomes David's friend and admits to being a hit man. Video tapes of their activities appear in the lovers' mail; David thinks they're from the neighbor, Daniel is sure the husband is onto the affair and hired the mugger. After Daniel tells David that he's been hired to kill the husband, an elaborate manipulation plays out, with murder, suicide, a payoff, more videos, and a surprise pairing.

Péril en la demeure is a rather unusual little thriller, in which musician David Aurphet starts an affair with the mother of his pupil. Her husband finds out and David's life has some nightmarish turns. I have to admit that my description makes it sound rather conventional but it certainly is not.

It is debatable how well this film works as a thriller, but there is no doubt that the love scenes between Nicole Garcia and Christophe Malavoy are absolutely stunning. They ooze sensuality and are almost like a ballet, both people moving sensitively, slowly, and silently, suggesting, responding to the other, teasing and hesitating, touching and retreating. These few little scenes belong to the most erotic moments ever to be put on celluloid.

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