Le Dossier 51 (1978)
Directed by Michel Deville

Film Review

Convincingly presented as an authentic espionage case, and in a way that is both chilling and darkly comedic, Le Dossier 51 stands apart as one of director Michel Deville's most usual cinematic offerings.  Deville began his filmmaking career in the 1950s, and after a brief flirtation with the policier genre, he found his metier with a series of light but immensely popular romantic comedies, including Ce soir ou jamais (1960) and L'Appartement des filles (1963).  By the 1970s, he had moved onto somewhat darker and more serious territory, bringing a distinctly caustic and sombre edge to his increasingly varied oeuvre.

With Le Dossier 51, Deville takes his fascination for the subjective camera to its limit and constructs a film narrative entirely from the perspective of a foreign agency eavesdropping on an unsuspecting French diplomat, in the hope of acquiring some incriminating evidence with which to blackmail him into working for them.  The film consists mostly of bugged conversations and images from hidden cameras, an odd montage that works far better than you might expect. 

It's a brave attempt at something new, and whilst the end result isn't entirely successful, Deville manages to make the most of this unconventional approach, taking as his starting point a spy novel by Gilles Perrault.  The film may not have been as commercially succesful as the director's earlier, more accessible films, but it found favour with many critics and was honoured with the Prix Méliès in 1978,  It also picked up two Césars in the same year, for its screenplay and editing.

One of the most unsettling aspects of Le Dossier 51 is the way in which the human beings it presents are reduced to mere objects.  It is as if they were being analysed not by a foreign power, but by an alien culture on a distant planet.  It's a demonstration of how society is being dehumanised by technology, individuals represented not as autonomous beings but as nameless commodities, mere puppets to be exploited and manipulated by those who have power over them.

This is repeatedly emphasised throughout the film by contrasting the raw emotions and capricious nature of the subjects under investigation (a diplomat and his entourage) with the clinical coldness of the agents who are impassively engaged in dissecting their victim's private life.  The latter elicit not the slightest shred of humanity or emotion - they might just as well be a bank of heartless computers, like those which are depicted so ominously in the film's opening sequence.

The sheer unusualness of Le Dossier 51 makes it interesting, particularly to devotees of Deville's increasingly unpredictable work, but it is hardly likely to endear itself to the mainstream.  The film's disjointed patchwork narrative and oppressively subjective approach make for an uncomfortable viewing experience.  Compelling it may not be, but it certainly has impact, and you are left more anxious than ever over how technology can be misapplied to the detriment of society by those seeking power and influence over us.

Film Synopsis

A mysterious foreign power has set its sights on recruiting Dominique Auphal, a prominent French diplomat, as an agent.  In order to put leverage on him to get him to comply, the security service of this foreign power embarks on a massive campaign of information gathering targeted at him.  Using the most up to date methods of espionage, a substantial dossier is built up relating to Auphal's personal and professional life, a dossier that threatens to compromise not only its intended victim but also the origanisation he works for, ODENS, which is actively involved with political exchanges across Europe.  It seems that Auphal, whilst apparently leading a blameless life, could well prove to be an ideal subject for blackmail...