Confidentially Yours

Confidentially Yours (French title: Vivement dimanche!, known as Finally, Sunday! in other English-speaking markets) is a 1983 French film directed by François Truffaut. Based on the novel The Long Saturday Night by the American author Charles Williams, it tells the story of Julien Vercel, an estate agent who is suspected of murdering his wife and her lover. As Vercel is hidden in his office, his secretary Barbara Becker investigates these suspicious murders. It was Truffaut's last film, he died the next year, aged 52, after being diagnosed with a brain tumour. The film had a total of 1,176,425 admissions in France and was the 39th highest-grossing film of the year.[2]

Confidentially Yours
Theatrical poster
Directed byFrançois Truffaut
Produced byArmand Barbault
François Truffaut
Written byJean Aurel
Suzanne Schiffman
François Truffaut
Based onThe Long Saturday Night by Charles Williams
StarringFanny Ardant
Jean-Louis Trintignant
Music byGeorges Delerue
CinematographyNéstor Almendros
Edited byMartine Barraqué
Production
company
Les Films du Carrosse
Films A2
Soprofilms
Distributed byActeurs Auteurs Associés (original release)
Release date
  • 10 August 1983 (1983-08-10)
Running time
110 minutes
LanguageFrench
Box office1,176,425 admissions (France)[1]

Plot

Julien Vercel, a real estate agent in the south of France, is hunting for ducks by the lake, while a man named Massoulier, who hunts in the same area, is shot dead. Julien returns to his office unaware but is soon questioned by the police. He learns that he is the main suspect, because when he left the hunt, he saw Massoulier's parked car, turned its lights off to save the battery and closed one of the door upon which he left fingerprints. Furthermore, the deceased Massoulier and Julien's wife, Marie-Christine had a secret relationship. When he confronts his wife later at home, she nonchalantly confirms her adultery. While Marie-Christine hides, Julien is taken to the police station for a second interview but is released with the help of his lawyer, Clement who drives him home. In the meantime, Marie-Christine has been murdered. Julien is now the prime suspect. In an effort to prove his innocence he wants to go to Nice, where his wife previously worked, but his secretary, Barbara Becker, argues that she should do the research on his behalf. She does so cunningly when her boss falls asleep in the office. Barbara is secretly in love with her boss, whereas Julien seems to have been indifferent to her.

While Julien hides in his real estate office instead of surrendering to the police, Barbara, who travels to Nice, starts investigating the past life of Marie-Christine. She learns that Marie-Christine's real name was Josiane Kerbel, that she has been married to a gambler, and that she lost a great deal of money gambling on horses. She married Vercel only to avoid drowning in debts. The tracks lead Barbara and Julien to a movie theater, then to a night club, and from there to the dark labyrinths of the prostitution area. Barbara and Julien mistakenly assault a suspicious man, believing him to be the real killer. It is revealed that he is, in fact, Massoulier’s brother. At the theater, a box office clerk, former lover of Massoulier, who viciously accused Julien of murder on the phone, is stabbed to death. Barbara, at her wit’s end, goes to see Julien’s lawyer and finally find the truth : Clement and Marie-Christine were lovers. He killed Massoulier because Marie-Christine asked him to, he killed her because she did not wanted to divorce Julien, he killed the clerk because she knew everything and he would have killed Julien after that. Barbara and a savvy police officer work together to set a trap for the lawyer. Clement, who smells the trap based on the sound recording at the last minute, commits suicide in a phone booth after having admitted everything on the phone, when he sees the approaching cops. Julien and Barbara finally get married by Massoulier's brother who is a clergyman.

Cast

Awards and nominations
Year Award ceremony Category Nominee Result
1984 BAFTA Awards Best Foreign Film Confidentially yours Nominated
César Awards Best Director François Truffaut Nominated
Best Actress Fanny Ardant Nominated
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References
  1. Box Office information for Francois Truffaut films at Box Office Story
  2. JP. "Vivement dimanche (1983)- JPBox-Office". jpbox-office.com. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  3. Allen, Don. Finally Truffaut. New York: Beaufort Books. 1985. ISBN 0-8253-0335-4. OCLC 12613514. pp. 239-240.
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