Don’t Touch the Axe

Jacques Rivette has returned to Balzac for this tale set among a privileged St Germain clique early in the nineteenth century. And as he nears 80, it comes as no surprise that time should be a crucial metaphor. Clocks tick in the corners of rooms, chime on mantelpieces and ring out from Parisian bell towers. Young general Armand de Montriveau (Guillaume Depardieu) finds his greatest battle is to conquer married but flirty Antoinette de Langeais (Jeanne Balibar). They pay court to each other over endless evenings, but Antoinette refuses to betray her husband, and her social position. This conflict of wills makes for a gripping film, albeit one that sometimes feels a little too cloistered.

Jonas Milk