Three children in a boat are fishing on the Vieux pond, in the Gâtine forest in Indre, without seeing that on the bank two bodies are embracing. In The Red WeddingStéphane Audran is Lucienne Delamare, wife of the deputy mayor, and Michel Piccoli plays Pierre Maury. They regularly find themselves in the great outdoors for feverish and adulterous antics.
They even have the castle of Valençay, of which Piccoli plays the role of curator: the lovers slip into the bed of the King of Spain and drink champagne there. In the municipal council, we then accuse “ young people » for making a mess on the premises. But, in the small town, gossip is rife and they fear scandal.
I did this for us, so we could be freer
The character played by Michel Piccoli In The Red Wedding
In the fall of 1972, Claude Chabrol moved his entire team to Valençay for two months. Painter of bourgeois life and its failings, he will derail history. It was inspired by an almost local news item, very recent at the time: the story of two illegitimate lovers from Creuse sentenced to prison for having killed their spouses (read elsewhere). It begins with the poisoning of Pierre's ailing wife, played by Clotilde Jouano: a few drops too much and that's it. Public rumor speaks of a suicide…
The Bellebouche pond, in Mézières-en-Brenne, where scenes from “Red Wedding” by Claude Chabrol were filmed.
© (Photo archives NR, Thierry Roulliaud)
« I did this for us. So that we can be freer », declares Pierre to Lucienne, without any further remorse. “ From a certain monstrosity, people prefer not to think that it is possible. This is where my work begins », declared Claude Chabrol (died in 2010) about his films.
But there remains Paul Delamare, of another caliber. The deputy mayor is about to involve Pierre, who has become his deputy, in a fraudulent real estate scheme. On the edge of the Bellebouche pond, in Mézières-en-Brenne, a crucial scene takes place: the husband reveals to the lovers that he knows everything, but that he does not care as long as his reputation is not achievement. The plot is underway. During a trip to Paris, the MP's car is damaged and he dies.
The tapestry by Jean Lurçat from the office of the mayor of Buzançais (Indre), is visible in the film “Les Noces rouge” by Claude Chabrol.
© (Photo archives NR, Patrick Gaïda)
The gendarmes are ordered to close the case by the prefect. This is the opportunity to appreciate the tapestry of the Buzançais town hall created by Jean Lurçat. The room became the office of the civil servant – himself played by Philippe Fourré, the owner of the Hôtel d'Espagne where the entire film crew was staying. Abdellah Zazoui, head of the establishment, plays a gendarme in charge of arrests.
Because Lucienne's daughter, Hélène, adopted by Paul Delamare, has guessed everything and denounces the accomplices by letter. The veil is torn and the criminals confess. The wedding was red and order was restored.
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THE SCENARIO
To write his story, Claude Chabrol takes up the main lines of crimes that occurred in 1970, in the Creuse; he knows this department well, where he took refuge during the Second World War. On February 23, 1970, a couple living in Bourganeuf (Creuse) returned from a conference. Around 9:30 p.m., their vehicle left the road and burst into flames. While driving, a trader was burned to death. His wife, ejected in the accident, is injured. A truck driver passes at this moment. He stops, rushes to rescue the man trapped in the burning car. But it's too late. He can help the woman lying in the grass. In reality, the man was shot and killed by the lover and the car pushed down. It is the couple's adopted child who denounces his mother. The lover then admits to having poisoned his own wife two months earlier. The release of the film was postponed for two weeks to allow the trial to conclude.
LA DISTRIBUTION
It is Stéphane Audran (Chabrol's wife at the time) who plays the unfaithful wife, Michel Piccoli plays the role of the murderous lover and Claude Piéplu that of the husband, a rather manipulative deputy mayor and unscrupulous politician. Local residents played extras. Lisette Fraiscinet, employee at La Poste and mother of twins, had to pass through Place de Valençay three times. “ The children were starting to get fed up », she told the NR Next. The real postman added a detour to his tour in a scene where he brings a letter from the lover to Stéphane Audran's home. Little fun fact: the script of the film, Aurore Pajot, is Indrienne, from Neuvy-Saint-Sépulchre. She became Chabrol's third wife in 1983.
THE FILMING
Good-natured in life, Claude Chabrol was also good during filming, often providing an opportunity to have good food. Well installed at the Hôtel d’Espagne, in Valençay, he appreciated “ the lamb with tarragon and the steak tartare, without forgetting the Suzette pancakes », Confided the owner Philippe Fourré at the time.
