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The Watchmaker of St. Paul

The Watchmaker of St. Paul

Thriller · Drama · Crime · 1974

Michel Descombes is a watchmaker who lives in Lyon with his teenage son Bernard. When the police visit and inform him that Bernard has killed a man and is on the run with a girl, Michel realises that he knew far less about his son than he thought.

Movie details

The Watchmaker of St. Paul

1974 Thriller · Drama · Crime 1h 45m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.9 / 10

Community rating

Michel Descombes is a watchmaker who lives in Lyon with his teenage son Bernard. When the police visit and inform him that Bernard has killed a man and is on the run with a girl, Michel realises that he knew far less about his son than he thought.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Watchmaker of St. Paul?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Bertrand Tavernier

Written by

Pierre Bost · Bertrand Tavernier · Jean Aurenche

Philippe Noiret

Philippe Noiret

Michel Descombes

Jean Rochefort

Jean Rochefort

Commissioner Guilboud

Jacques Denis

Jacques Denis

Antoine, friend of Michel

Yves Afonso

Yves Afonso

Inspector Bricard

Julien Bertheau

Julien Bertheau

Edouard, friend of Michel

Jacques Hilling

Jacques Hilling

Costes, journalist

Clotilde Joano

Clotilde Joano

Janine Boitard, journalist

Court is in session

Put The Watchmaker of St. Paul on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Big-Idea Head

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.