A middle-aged businessman faces bankruptcy after his partner's suicide and a rival's unscrupulous offer to buy his company. Determined to avoid the trap, he finds an unexpected solution through a prostitute.
Acting
Piccoli's crumbling dignity; Schneider's devastating stillness.
Direction
Sautet's merciless observation of French middle-class hypocrisy.
Writing
Dialogue so sharp you don't notice the 135 minutes.
Director
Claude Sautet
Michel Piccoli
Simon Léotard
Ottavia Piccolo
Mado
Romy Schneider
Hélène
Jacques Dutronc
Pierre
Julien Guiomar
Lépidon
Charles Denner
Reynald Manecca
Claude Dauphin
Vaudable
Michel Aumont
Aimé Barachet
Jean Bouise
André
Benoît Allemane
Antoine
André Falcon
Mathelin
Jacques Richard
Girbal
Nicolas Vogel
Maxime
Marc Chapiteau
Francis
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Sautet's '70s films mapped the spiritual bankruptcy of post-Gaullist France; Mado is his most brutal ledger.
Romy Schneider and Michel Piccoli had already played lovers in La Piscine; here their reunion crackles with disappointed familiarity.
FR
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