The Cry of the Owl (1987 film)

The Cry of the Owl
Directed by	Claude Chabrol
Produced by	Antonio Passalia
Written by	Claude Chabrol Odile Barski Patricia Highsmith (novel)
Starring	Christophe Malavoy Mathilda May Virginie Thévenet
Music by	Matthieu Chabrol
Cinematography	Jean Rabier
Editing by	Monique Fardoulis
Studio	Civite Casa Films Italfrance Films TF1
Distributed by	Delta
Release date(s)	October 28, 1987
Running time	102 minutes
Country	France Italy
Language	French

The Cry of the Owl (French: Le cri du hibou) is a 1987 thriller film adapted from the 1962 novel The Cry of the Owl by Patricia Highsmith. The film was directed by French director Claude Chabrol and stars Christophe Malavoy, Mathilda May and Virginie Thévenet.^[1]

Plot

Parisian illustrator Robert becomes obsessed with a young woman, Juliette. Night after night, Robert sneaks around the house to catch a glimpse of Juliette, until one day he finally gathers the courage to introduce himself. Through her friendship with Robert, Juliette realizes that she is not happy with her fiancé, Patrick, and leaves him to be with Robert.

One night, Patrick attacks Robert in a deserted area; Robert defends himself and knocks Patrick unconscious, leaving him on the shores of a nearby river. The next day, Robert is interrogated by the police. Patrick is missing, and suddenly Robert is the prime suspect. Nobody knows that Patrick has allied with Robert's bitter ex-wife, Véronique, to take revenge on Robert; he is hiding from the police in order to make them think Robert killed him. The whole situation threatens to escalate when Juliette commits suicide, and Patrick launches a vendetta against Robert.

Cast

• Christophe Malavoy as Robert
• Mathilda May as Juliette
• Jacques Penot as Patrick
• Jean-Pierre Kalfon as Police commissioner
• Virginie Thévenet as Véronique
• Patrice Kerbrat as Marcello
• Jean-Claude Lecas as Jacques
• Agnès Denèfle as Suzie
• Victor Garrivier as Doctor
• Jacques Brunet as Father
• Charles Millot as Director
• Yvette Petit as Neighbor
• Dominique Zardi as Neighbor
• Henri Attal as Cop
• Albert Dray as Cop
• Nadine Hoffmann as Josette
• Gérard Croce as Cop
• Isabelle Charraix as Mme Tessier
• Laurent Picaudon as Boy
• Christian Bouvier as Maître d'hôtel
• Gilles Dreu as M. Tessier

Release

The film premiered on October 28, 1987 in France. It was featured at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 1987.^[2] It made its US premiere on October 16, 1991 in New York City. The DVD release for the US market is set for June 8, 2010.^[3]

American adaptation

In 2009, British filmmaker Jamie Thraves directed a new adaptation of the novel for the US market.^[4] It stars Julia Stiles, Charlotte Sullivan and Paddy Considine.^[5]

Awards and nominations

• César Awards (France)
  • Won: Most Promising Actress (Mathilda May)
  • Nominated: Best Actor – Supporting Role (Jean-Pierre Kalfon)

References

1. ^ Deming, Mark. "The Cry of the Owl: Overview". Allmovie. http://allmovie.com/work/the-cry-of-the-owl-119167. Retrieved July 24, 2010. 
2. ^ Cinema Eye: And the film festival goes on......
3. ^ Hear The Cry of the Owl on DVD
4. ^ The Cry of the Owl Hitting DVD on June 6th from Paramount
5. ^ Patricia Highsmith's 'The Cry of the Owl' is now a film starring Julia Stiles

External links

• The Cry of the Owl (1987 film) at the Internet Movie Database