In the harbor city of Le Havre, France, a woman is stabbed during the night, just below the windows of her neighborhood. Pierre (Yvan Attal) has witnessed the murder, and heard the wails of the women crying for help. So have the neighbors, certainly. But at the end, nobody called the police. Nevertheless, sorrows are too heavy for Pierre, which feel the needs to tell everything to his wife (Sophie Quinton), and to the police. During the investigation, it appears that 38 people witnessed the murdering, and none reacted...
Acting
Attal's shame radiates through every restrained gesture
Direction
Belvaux builds dread from ordinary French apartments
Writing
Dialogue that weaponizes polite avoidance
Director
Lucas Belvaux
Yvan Attal
Pierre Morvand
Sophie Quinton
Louise Morvand
Nicole Garcia
Sylvie Loriot
François Feroleto
Le capitaine Léonard
Natacha Régnier
Anne
Patrick Descamps
Petrini
Didier Sandre
Le procureur Lacourt
Bernard Mazzinghi
Le directeur de la PJ
Laurent Fernandez
Le chef de groupe
Pierre Rochefort
Le jeune officier de police
Philippe Résimont
L'homme violent
Sébastien Libessart
Témoin #1
Dimitri Rataud
Témoin #2
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Adapts the infamous 1964 Kitty Genovese murder, though the '38 witnesses' statistic was later disputed by researchers.
Belvaux relocated the American case to Le Havre to examine French bourgeois passivity specifically — the apathy of 'not making waves.'
FR
