Noyade interdite aka Drowning Prohibited (1987) Pastel Beach Town Noir

Directed by Pierre Granier-Deferre (La métamorphose des cloportes, The French Detective, Cours privé).

Written by Pierre Granier-Deferre, and Dominique Roulet with additional dialog by Dominique Roulet and based on the novel Widow's Walk by Andrew Coburn.

Cinematography was by Charles Van Damme. Music was by Philippe Sarde.

The film stars Philippe Noiret (Coup de Torchon, Cinema Paradiso, The Postman)  as Inspector Paul Molinat, Guy Marchand (The Grilling, Coup de Torchon) as Inspector Leroyer, Élizabeth Bourgine (Cours privé) as Élizabeth, Gabrielle Lazure (La belle captive) as Jeanne, Marie Trintignant (Serie Noir, Nuit d'été en ville, Betty) as Isabelle, Stefania Sandrelli (Seduced And Abandoned, The Conformist ) as Winnie, Anne Roussel (The Yes Man) as Marie, Winnie's daughter, Suzanne Flon as Hazelle, Andréa Ferréol as Cora Dray, Catherine Hiegel as Dr. Chauveau, Laura Betti as Keli, Philippe Polet as Bud, and François Dyrek as Commissioner Bénard. 

Story

The credits appear superimposed over a horseshoe shaped Conche de Saint Palais and it's pocket beach the "Plage du Bureau" aka Bureau Beach in Saint-Palais-sur-Mer, a beach town on the Bay of Biscay. We hear the surf and a whimsical whistled opening score. It's early morning with a light breeze and a low tide and the waves are lazily rolling in on a sandy yellow beach.

Near the end of the credits the happy go lucky opening tune fades out to a piece more somber in tone as  we pan along the shore to stop at a red flag flapping in the sea breeze on the beach. 

It tells us that bathing at this time is prohibited. The pan continues and drops down a bit to follow Marie a young brunette haired woman running down to where the beach meets the gray limestone of the opposite headland. The headland is topped by a seawall, behind which rise white washed beach houses and umbrella pines

She drops her sandals and bag at the winding ribbon of natural debris, the high tide wrack line of seaweed, seagrass, driftwood, shells, left stranded on the sand. She runs towards the water. She is wearing a shift rather that a bathing suit. She dives in and swims towards the rocks. 

After using the support of the limestone, she stands up. However she feels something touch her thigh. When he looks down she discovers the dead body of Stephane Dray, the town dentist bobbing in the waves against the limestone. 

She of course screams and swims and then runs back to her sandals and bag, picks them up and continues to the closest house, Mr. Bleau's place and yells and bangs on his door. No answer. Here we cut to a young man Bud, peering at the woman. She runs off.

 No answer. Here we cut to a young man Bud, peering at marie. She runs off.

Marie's next destination is the home of the dentist. She runs up a quiet street. At the gate be begins to yell Cora. Cora! 

She opens the bate and runs into the yard. Cora comes out to see what is the matter. 

Andréa Ferréol as Cora

Cora is a heavy set redhead with an afro styled hairdo. Marie is wet, basically naked, standing in her wet clingy an now see through shift, showing everything she's got.

Anne Roussel as Marie

Marie: He's over there in the water.

Cora: What are you talking about? 

Marie: Your husband dead. In the water.

Cora: Died from humping you I bet. You're all wet. Go get him for me, by the skin of the balls, you should like it right?

Marie [backing away]: But its true he's dead.

Cut to a a real estate shop window with listing displayed taped directly to the glass, and we first see Inspector Paul Molinat, wearing a light leisure suit, reflected in it as he approaches. 

He goes inside. He asks if he can sit. A customer is just leaving, and Paul flips the sign on the door to closed.  Winnie, the woman who runs the place, walks her customer to the door, flips the door sign back to open.

Stefania Sandrelli as Winnie

Philippe Noiret as Paul Molinat

Winnie: Before you were less of a cop. More in love. It hid the rest. [She hugs him] Its good to come see me every ten years.

Paul: This time it's for your daughter that I'm here.

Winnie: You're right she has become very beautiful, but you know Paul we don't have the same character. 

Paul: Forget Paul, Inspector Molinat. 

She asks if this is his investigation, and he replies yes. He goes on to say that he really didn't want to come back. 

(We assume from these clues that most likely he's out of interdépartementale de la police nationale de la Charente-Maritime (DIPN 17), headquartered in La Rochelle)  

The conversation also implies that there was some bit of trouble with him in capacity of town cop back in the past. Paul asks about Marie.

Paul: Where is Marie?

Winnie: Up stairs

Paul: If you have time [walking to the stair], get me all your seasonal and year round rental records.

Winnie: What if I don't have time? 

Paul: Get them out anyway.

Cut to Marie wrapped in a towel sitting on a balcony.

Marie: I won't go back there.

Paul: You must, I will be there.

Marie: I'm Not responsible.

We cut to a view of the body of Stephane Dray. Paul is holding a dish with a small shell that he rolls around. He says "it's small." 

Dray wasn't drowned he was shot in the head with a small caliber gun. When Paul paws through the dead man's belongings he removes a receipt from Chez Bruno a pizza joint. 

We cut to Chez Bruno where Paul is eating while carrying on a conversation with Bruno. Bruno tells him the dentist hardly comes to the place while the waitress whispers that he was there a lot. 

Paul in answer to Bruno, takes out the waterlogged receipt taken from Dray's belongings and spreads it out on the tablecloth. 

Cut to Paul driving to Winnie's, parking, and grabbing a suitcase. He meets Marie and explains he hates hotels and Winnie offered a room. 

Cut to the road near the beach. Night. We see Bud again same kid who was spying on Marie, after she found the body. He is walking near the embankment. He ducks down when a 1986 Peugeot 505 passes. He then he jumps up to the street and follows it.

At Winnie's place Paul up in his room, hears a whimpering sound coming from Marie's room and he goes down stairs and opens to door to find her making love with a man. Paul excuses himself and closes the door then sits in an arm chair near it. 

Meanwhile we cut to Bud, kicking at the Peugeot 505's tires as it sits parked at the curb outside of Winnie's.

The man eventually comes out of Marie's room and Paul flips on the light and asks the man his name. Startled he says "Lymann, with two nn's, " and splits in a hurry.

The man eventually comes out of Marie's room and Paul flips on the light and asks the man his name. Startled he says "Lymann, with two nn's, " and splits in a hurry.

Paul returns to Marie's room once Lymann has left, and apologizes to Marie for interrupting. He spots some money on her bureau and he asks if they always pay, and Marie replies no, she also does it for free for those she likes. 

So Marie is a part time hooker, and now her initial conversation with Cora makes more sense. Meanwhile Lymann finds all four tires flat on his car when he returns to it. 

Daybreak. 

A ship is passing off the Conche de Saint Palais. We get a sequence of shots depicting the awakening town. 

Then we cut to a headstone in a cemetery Christine Molinat. Paul is visiting his wife Christine's grave, he lays some flowers. Did what happened 10 years ago result in Christine's death? 

Back on the beach, a beachcomber Hazelle is collecting shells, announcing with delight when she finds a white one. 

Bud runs up and grabs her. He carries her into the surf. Marie and Paul are watching from a nearby deck. Marie runs down to intercept him and gets Bud to put her down. .

Philippe Polet as Bud

Paul is standing higher up on the beach. Paul runs off into town at a good clip

Hazelle sees Paul, recognizes him, and she mentions Christine, and tells him she left that way and points to the sea. (She committed suicide apparently so another piece of the story of Paul's past). 

Suzanne Flon as Hazelle

We cut back to Bud and follow him as he runs into a boatyard, and the up an outside stairway to a second story apartment over the downstairs office /living quarters. A older woman, Bud's mother, shakes her head.

Later in the day and back on the beach. A "vendeur de beignets" walks the sand with a basket of goodies. He got a spiel that he recites for sales. When he stops and kneels by a sunbather to offer his goodies, sudden cries and screams rises up from lower down the beach. 

Vender: Shit another one!

We cut to what looks like another body floating on the breakers.

We cut to a porch situated at the southern headland at the mouth of the Conche de Saint Palais. It is here we first meet our twisted sisters. Elizabeth, Jeanne, and Isabell from "The Great White North," aka Quebec, Canada.

They rent the large gray stone house with the orange roof at the end of Ave de Trez la Chasse. 

Elizabeth out on the end of a porch, hears the sound of the commotion from the beach, she calls to Jeanne to "Come see." Jeanne comes out of the house grabs binoculars off a table and takes a look. She says it's unclear. Elizabeth takes the binoculars away and looks. 

They are in turn grabbed by Paul who has just arrived to do his routine investigation. He scopes out what's happening and we cut to a through the binocular shot and see that the dead body is just a discarded jacket that trapped an air bubble. False alarm.

Paul, followed by Elizabeth and Jeanne walk to the opposite end of the porch where Isabelle is sunbathing on a wicker beach chair. 

Paul: Did  you know him?

Elizabeth: Who? 

Paul: The dentist.

Elizabeth: No. Our teeth are fine [they both smile].

Gabrielle Lazure as Jeanne lt, and Elizabeth Bourgine as Elizabeth rt.

Paul [turning to look at the ocean]: You can see everything from here. Except at night when we sleep, but we can hear. Did you hear something that night? 

A chorus of no's. 

Marie Trintignant as Isabell

Paul: Obviously by the sea the wind blows. It comes here it goes there. Ah, [turns back to the sisters] my name is Paul Molinat. I am a senior police inspector. It doesn't seem like it. [rubs his face] I have to go shave, but we will surely see each other again. [Steps off porch and looks up at the house] I like the house.

Once Paul is gone.

 Jeanne [turns to Elizabeth]: Think he's a real cop?

Cut to the boatyard. Its night. A light goes on in the bottom apartment. Bud's mother comes out and climbs up the stairway, and peers into Buds bedroom empty bedroom. The look on her face says he's probably up to no good.  

Cut back to the twisted sisters stone house, a few windows glow with light. We then cut to a roof edge where a tree grows close and see Buds head sticking out of the leaves. 

He's entranced. A reverse angle reveals that he is peeping on Elizabeth and Jeanne undressing in a bathroom. The frosted windows give us impressionistic nudes. When the light goes out Bud exclaims "oh no, turn it back on."

The next morning finds Heloise again beachcombing, while Paul and Marie watch her, over their morning bowls of coffee. 

Paul [declaring to himself]: They'll have to import shellfish if she keeps this up. [speaking to Marie] Did the dentist pay you?

Marie: I never did anything with him.

Winnie comes out on the porch and joins them. She informs Paul that his colleague looked for him everywhere and is waiting at the hotel. When Paul asks who?, she answers one who is poorly behaved and doesn't say hello or thank-you. Paul replies Leroyer. Winnie announces that she's off to raise their rents as the summer season is about to start.

We get a couple of sequences where we see Winnie visiting her renters. We see her visiting the twisted sisters, and then a more interesting one where she goes to Cora. Cora has a note pad with a sheet of paper with names, and she is actually in the process of writing out Winnie's name when Winnie calls out.

Winnie: Cora are you there? 

From Coara's POV we see Winnie open a door revealing herself to Cora.

Winnie: Didn't you hear me?

Cora: You're in luck. I was putting your name on my list. [waving the notepad] It's all the ladies he stepped over. Ten to one that one of those killed him. 

Winnie: So [she pulls out a new summer season rent bill] 

Cora walks over a wall counter and pick up a dental pick. Then turns to Winnie.

Cora: What could he see in you? Where you doing things to him? What tricks? 

Winnie: He owes me 6,000 francs winter rates.

Cora: Its cheap

Winnie: Goodbye Cora. 

Winnie turns and begins to walk out. Cora calls out and follows her.

Cora: Winnie. [leaning in close, face to face with Winnie] He thought you had beautiful eyes. It's true. Will you give me one? [brings the dental pick within an inch of Winnies eyeball and laughs].

Winnie turns and splits, and we quick cut to Leroyer shaving with a straight razor. He is whistling as he shaves. Paul opens the door and asks him what the hell is he doing here?

Leroyer, wisecracks back that their boss Bénard sent him down to learn from you. Paul seeing Leroyer's  gun and holster hanging up by the door grabs it pulls his revolver out and tosses it in the sink. 

First lesson never leave your gun laying around. Always within reach. Paul exits with a "see you tomorrow."

Tomorrow. Paul and Leroyer visit the office of the female medical doctor who sold Dray the dental practice in Saint-Palais-sur-Mer. They discover that he owed her 30 million and has only paid five.  Another suspect.

Here we cut back to the limestone rocks at the mouth of the Conche de Saint Palais near the twisted sisters rental. Bud is sneaking a peek at Isabella. 

Isabella is sunning herself on her stomach with a towel protecting her derriere. Bud is starring and whishing for her to remove the towel. After a while she does so. It worked! Now Bud wishes even harder that Isabelle will turn over. He gets his wish, but doesn't hear Paul coming up behind him.

Paul grabs him by the hair and orders Leroyer to take him home. 

At the boatyard Leroyer speaks with Buds mother but she will not let him search her son's room without a search warrant. Once Leroyer departs she goes up to visit Bud. She asks him if he relieved himself and Bud replies he didn't get a chance to because the big cop pulled his hair. 

Cut to Paul again questioning Jeanne and Elizabeth. Here we find out that Elizabeth and Isabelle are siblings and Jeanne is Elizabeth's and Isabella's sister in law. Looking out the window Paul sees Leroyer approaching and departs. Leroyer stops at the sunbathing Isabella and tells her that she has beautiful eyes. Paul collec ts him and they both depart.

It all goes Noirsville when a group of kids swimming and snorkeling near a carrelet, one of those stilted wooden fishing huts equipped with large, pulley-operated square dip net. find a body along the bottom of the rocks. 

The body is lying face down naked and weighted down on all four limbs. The Mayor complains that the bodies will hurt the summer season.

This body has been in the water for weeks, and the crabs have eaten away the face. The next day Heloise finds another body floating while on her morning beachcombing walk. This one is identified as  Lymann. 

This body has been in the water for weeks, and the crabs have eaten away the face. The next day Heloise finds another body floating while on her morning beachcombing walk. This one is identified as  Lymann. 

A crowd gathers on the beach around Paul, Leroyer, and a medic. A bullet in the ear just like the other two. 

As Paul and Leroyer  depart they meet the mayor. Paul tells him at least the beach is crowded... 

Noirsville

  

This is a decent Noir. Noiret's performance will remind you of Peter Faulk's Colombo character's style, a disarming plodding persona who feigns incompetence, and conducts his investigations with persistent harmless questions. This contrasts nicely with Marchand's panache at being a complete douche. The rest of the large ensemble cast is flawless. 

The cinematography is beautiful and the soundtrack decent. Now we'll have to check out more of  Pierre Granier-Deferre films. 8/10