Barocco (1976)

The story of Barocco is about a girl in love with a boxer. They plan to go abroad after making a lot of money by participating in an interview intended to discredit a politician at elections time. But the boxer is killed before, and the killer, little by little, fall in love with the girl that accept him finally at the condition that he looks like the boxer he killed.

Barocco is a 1976 French romantic thriller film, directed by André Téchiné. The film stars Isabelle Adjani, Gérard Depardieu and Marie-France Pisier. Identity, redemption and resurrection are the themes of the film. The plot follows a young woman who convinces her boxer boyfriend to accept a bribe to tell a lie that discredits a local politician. When the boyfriend is murdered, she is racked with guilt until she meets the killer and plans to remake him into the image of her slain lover. The film won three César Awards: Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Best Cinematography and Best Music. The film had a total of 678,734 admissions in France.

Téchiné took the title of his film from the work Barroco (1974) written by Severo Sarduy, a Cuban poet and cultural theorist exiled in Paris. The director was also inspired by the Baroque painting, the Exchange of Princesses (1621–1625) by Rubens, in which one figure is becoming the copy of the other.

Téchiné’s third feature had a bigger budget than Souvenirs the France, his previous film, and it was produced by Alain Sarde with finance from Les Films de la Boetie, which made many of Claude Chabrol’s films of the period, and Sara Films. The screenplay was written by Téchiné with Marilyn Goldin, they had collaborated also in Souvenirs d’en France. Barocco was shot in Amsterdam.

Directed by: André Téchiné
Starring: Isabelle Adjani, Gérard Depardieu, Marie-France Pisler, Jean-Claude Brialy, Julien Guiomar, Hélène Surgère, Claude Brasseur, Elise Hoomans, Adrian Brine, Susan Senduk
Screenplay by: Marilyn Goldin, André Téchiné
Production Design by: Ferdinando Scarfiotti
Cinematography by: Bruno Nuytten
Film Editing by: Claudine Merlin
Costume Design by: Christian Gasc
Art Direction by: Benedict Schillemans
Music by: Philippe Sarde
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Les Films de la Boétie
Release Date: December 8, 1976