In "The Clockmaker", Michel Descombes(Philippe Noiret) is a widowed clockmaker living in Lyons. One morning he is informed by Inspector Guilboud(Jean Rochefort) that his grown son, Bernard, is suspected along with a woman named Liliane of killing a factory owner, Razon, the previous night. They are now the subjects of
an intense manhunt. Meanwhile, Descombes has little idea as to why his son would commit this act and can only hope that his son is not killed by the police. At the behest of a journalist, he broadcasts a radio appeal to his son to turn himself in."The Clockmaker" is a straightforward and simple story, told mostly from the father's point of view, thus highlighting the difference in generations. The movie is about the effect of crime on family members and other people on the periphery. It also serves as an early critique of media manipulation. All of which is held together by a quietly powerful performance by Philippe Noiret.
April 22, 2006
