heau
I've just seen the first 50 minutes of this on TV5 Monde and gave up. I'm glad that other reviewers have found the plot incomprehensible; I thought it was just my French. I agree it has a certain mysterious charm and Catherine Deneuve certainly looks her stunning best but the quality of the acting is abysmal and no character generated a scintilla of sympathy or interest for me. Like so many French films, it's strangely compelling despite its flaws and apparent lack of plot logic - perhaps it's the beauty of the château or the anticipation that some clue to purpose of the characters' activities is suddenly going to appear; I'm not sure it deserves to be described as dramatic tension though. It reminded me of the Avengers without the humour and of The Prisoner without the menace and innovation. A very brown film of its time!
Thorsten_B
Hugo Santiago, creator of the (only little) better known "Invasion", made this film in France in 1979 and perfectly captures the mood that these small-budget, highly intelligent post-68 psycho-crime-flicks used to have in these days. Most of these pictures are long lost and forgotten; I had a lucky day when I found (and taped) "The mysterious Sect", as it was called in translation, on German TV few years ago (and finally managed to watch it). The plot – starting out with private eye Deneuve taken in service by castle owner Frey to research some strangers' attempts to break into his castle – gets trickier within every five minutes and offers quite a few twists, and not least it offers the young Anne Parillaud. Sound plays a big part in it, but giving away the reason would be too big a spoiler. There are people who love these kind of movies, but these folks are not many, and they will have a hard time finding this particular one. However, hunting it down pays. It's intellectual and entertaining (even a bit comical) all at the same time, and all in an almost "elite" way, building barriers for people with an affinity for the conventional Hollywood cinema (which was, of course, itself on a much higher degree of sophistication back in 1979). If you like the weird and unexpected, and especially if you have a heart for the french movie chic of the 70s, this is for you. I know I don't say anything new, but it really is a pity that so many films like "Écoute voir" have fallen victim to complete oblivion, with only coincidence saving some for those who love them.
univibe
I saw this movie twenty-five years ago and have never heard of it since. I'm writing this off my memory in the hope that someone will indicate how to find this lost film. It's strange that a movie featuring two well known actors like Catherine Deneuve and Sami Frey could completely disappear but it's not the strangest thing about the film. The plot line is almost incomprehensible: It deals with a female Marlowe investigating a sect that uses some kind of mind-control ray. Not very clear. The characters sometime walk out of a room inside a city building to find themselves in another room in a castle in the countryside??? Actor Sami Frey has installed some short-wave radio equipment inside a big round shaped pigeon house and can detect/control the ray. I'm not clear about the details. What I do remember is that the soundtrack is very elaborate and that's the reason I would like to see the movie again. I also remember the photography to be quite good. Maybe it was an experiment at emulating Luis Bunuel. I hope it resurfaces eventually.
