Deblache (50) is a policeman. He and his partner Theron are detectives together, hold nocturnal interrogation sessions or drink. Theron is attractive, young, a libertine, a heartless seducer and… just married to Barbara. And that is the treachery. A team of two detectives is also a marriage. Theron introduces his wife to Deblache. She is young, attractive and distant. She knows very well that Deblache doesn’t like her and makes that clear to him in an ironic way.And that’s how it starts, physical love without words or compassion that makes Barbara cry her eyes out. Deblache is at first stunned by this flood of tears and regards her as weak. But he soon sees a puzzle in her face, as if she is putting up a barrier between them in the form of tears. The desire becomes passion, the encounters become too restricted, the husband too much…‘Sale comme un ange reveals the innermost of the characters and frees the way to illuminate the dark and reckless area of sex and emotions.’ (Cahiers du Cinéma)Catherine Breillat: ‘I don’t want to tell a story about people who love each other, but about people who desire each other. This desire bubbles up as a consequence of treachery, shame and remorse.’It is this feeling that undermines human relationships and that pushes people inevitably and without any morality towards a fatal target. (J.D.)
