Dossier 51

Dossier 51 (French: Le Dossier 51) is a novel by Gilles Perrault. In 1978 it was made into a French film, directed by Michel Deville. Deville and Perrault won a César Award for Best Writing for their adaptation. The film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1978 Cannes Film Festival.^[1]

Plot and style

A secret organization (presumably a foreign intelligence service though this is never made clear) attempts to coerce a French diplomat into working for them.

The book resembles a dossier (file) containing notes, memos, wiretap transcripts, expense reports and interoffice correspondence (including administrative details, even some bickering) written in various personal styles. Every department in the organization is identified by a Greek or Roman god: Jupiter, Mercury, Esculape, Mars, etc. The targets of their investigations have their names replaced by numbers: 51 for the target, 52 for his wife, and so on, further dehumanizing the proceedings.

A psychoanalysis of the target is conducted, people near him are influenced. Ultimately it is established that the target may be a closet homosexual. A sexual encounter with another man is set up in order to create basis for blackmail. Shortly after that successful sexual encounter, the target is killed in a single car accident – probably suicide. The book/dossier concludes with an irrelevant administrative memo; there is no remorse whatsoever about the tragic consequences of the investigation.

Cast

• Françoise Béliard - Sylvie Mouriat
• Patrick Chesnais - Hadès
• Jenny Clève - L'agent 747, femme de ménage de 51
• Jean Dautremay - Esculape 3
• Gérard Dessalles - Brauchite
• Jean-Michel Dupuis - Agent Hécate 8446
• Isabelle Ganz - L'allumeuse
• Sabine Glaser - Paméla
• Nathalie Juvet - Marguerite Marie
• Françoise Lugagne - Madame Auphal
• Christophe Malavoy - L'agent 8956
• Claude Marcault - Liliane Auphal / 52
• François Marthouret - Dominique Auphal / 51
• Jean Martin - Vénus
• Marie Matile - L'amie de Sylvie Mouriat
• Michel Aumont - Mars's voice

References

External links

• Dossier 51 at the Internet Movie Database