An interesting feature for the 1961 film (released in the US as The Passion of Slow Fire ) could center on its exploration of the transference of guilt and the psychological disintegration of the "ordinary man".
: Highlight the collaboration between two masters: Georges Simenon , the king of psychological noir, and Jean Anouilh , the prestigious playwright who wrote the visual-heavy screenplay.
: The story transposes Simenon's American setting to the cold, puritanical atmosphere of Geneva, Switzerland . Use high-contrast black-and-white cinematography to emphasize the "aseptic" and overly-ordered life of the protagonist, Stéphane Blanchon (Jean Desailly), before it is shattered by the murder.
: While the film is French-Swiss, the victim is an American student (played by Alexandra Stewart ), highlighting the intrusion of "foreignness" into Blanchon's rigid world.
: Focus on Jean Desailly’s portrayal of a "domesticated" man whose attempts to reclaim a sense of life in the bars of Geneva are doomed to failure. Production Trivia
: Feature the elegant and subtle score by Georges Delerue , which underscores the "slow fire" of the protagonist's growing desperation.
: Despite its modest budget, The New York Times praised it as an "impeccable" and "persuasive" adaptation that strips its protagonist's soul bare. The Passion of Slow Fire (1961) - IMDb
