DEVIL'S DAUGHTER (aka La Fille Du Diable)

This French crime-drama is simply brilliant. Fresnay is an infamous criminal who escapes from a shootout with the police. He's picked up on the road by a self-made millionaire who's returning home to his only living relative, an aunt, whom he hasn't seen since he was a child. The car crashes and the millionaire is killed his body washed away in a stream. Fresnay survives, though, saved by a doctor (Ledoux) who knows Fresnay's identity but coerces him into taking the millionaire's identity. Ledoux then blackmails Fresnay into using his newfound millions to do good deeds for his village. Running rampant, though, is a group of miscreant juveniles, led by a girl with tuberculosis (Clement). She and her rabble constantly terrorize the locals and she's idolized Fresnay's career for many years. Things come to a head when she slowly comes to realize her criminal hero is actually the village's new benefactor. This is just an amazing film. Fresnay is great as the hardened criminal who slowly begins reckon with his criminal past, while Ledoux is equally good as the crafty but kindly doctor. But it's Andree Clement, whose mother died from the disease she now suffers from and who hates all happiness, who steals the show. The climactic scene is unforgettable. We can't recommend this film enough. Wow.

• crime
• drama
• film
• noir