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Before the Deluge (1954)

Before the Deluge (1954)

Drama
Release Date: 1954, February 26
Directors: André Cayatte
Countries: France, Italy
Production: UGC, Documento Film, Documento Film
Cast: Marina Vlady, Line Noro, Maria Zanoli, Bernard Blier, Carlo Ninchi, Albert Rémy, Paul Bisciglia, Julien Verdier, Roger Coggio, Isa Miranda, Clément Thierry, André Valmy

Overview:

The title of this French "reality" drama, which translates to Before the Deluge, is a play on Louis XVI's famous prognostication, "Apres moi, le deluge." Set in 1950, the film concentrates on five Parisian adolescents. Certain that the next war will herald the apocalypse, the youngster make plans to run off to a desert island and set up a new society. This, however, will require money, which is why the boys decide to pull off a "necessary" robbery. Idealism collapses in the face of cold reality, as the five youths suffer from the consequences of their actions. Avant le Deluge was one of a group of films cowritten by director Andre Cayatte and Charles Spaak which endeavored to explore the touchy social issues of the day: others in the Cayatte-Spaak canon include the euthanasia-themed Justice est Faite and the capital-punishment tract Nous sommes tous des assassins.