Thérèse Desqueyroux (1962 film)
Thérèse Desqueyroux is a 1962 French film directed by Georges Franju, based on the novel of the same name by François Mauriac. Written by Franju and François Mauriac and Claude Mauriac, it stars Emmanuelle Riva and Philippe Noiret. Riva won Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival, the Étoile de Cristal award for Best Actress, and the Silver Goddess Award from the Mexican Cinema Journalists for her performance. Plot. Thérèse lives in a mansion in the Landes, a region of pine forests, unhappily married to Bernard, a dull and pompous landowner whose only interest is preserving  his family name and property. Her only comforts are her fondness for the surrounding woods and her affection for Bernard's half-sister, Anne. When an unwanted baby increases her alienation, her mind turns to the medication on which Bernard is dependent. By secretly increasing the dosage she precipitates a crisis, but it does nor prove fatal. After enquiries reveal that she had been forging prescriptions, she is arrested. Desperate to save the family reputation, her influential father applies pressure and Bernard perjures himself. Discharged, she undertakes the lonely journey back to Bernard's estate. Unable to give him any  satisfactory explanation, he locks her in a remote room where, allowed only cigarettes and wine, she slowly wastes away. When freed to attend a family gathering and meet Anne's new husband, people are shocked at her sickly appearance. Bernard then moves her to Paris with an allowance, on condition that she returns for family events as his spouse. He still cannot understand why she wanted to kill him. Production. The film was shot at Studios Franstudio in Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France. The exterior part of the film was shot at Gironde, France. Soundtrack. Long after the film 's original release, in February 2005, the French soundtrack record label Play Time released the soundtrack on Compact Disc along with other soundtracks performed by Jarre. This also includes soundtracks from other Franju films, including "Head Against the Wall" and "Eyes Without a Face".