Overview
A downtrodden cop finds unexpected power in a world of corruption and racial tension.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Brutal
- sardonic
- bleak
- grotesque
- arthouse cinema night
- dark comedy marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film's performances, stylish visual craftsmanship, and black wit, while some found its momentum emotionally distant or uneven.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The village's humiliations, racism, adultery, and murders are presented through mordant wit rather than conventional suspense.
Lucien Cordier begins as an ineffectual policeman who ignores wrongdoing before pursuing his own murderous form of retribution.
The French African village is rendered as a seedy, agrarian backwater whose stillness and social rot shape the film's visual identity.
The setting's white residents mistreat the Black population while corruption and lust structure everyday authority.
Films like Coup de Torchon, and why
The City of Violence
stylish french crime comedy with morally corrosive protagonists and an offbeat, cynical tone
The Killing
blackly comic crime story using absurdity and social cruelty to expose corruption
The Gravediggers
period french crime drama blending fatalism, betrayal, and sharply etched performances
Movie Details
- Director
- Bertrand Tavernier
- Release Date
- 1981-11-04
- Runtime
- 128 min
- Rating
- 7.0 / 10 (225)
Cast
- Philippe Noiret
- Isabelle Huppert
- Jean-Pierre Marielle
- Stéphane Audran
- Eddy Mitchell
- Guy Marchand
- Michel Beaune
- Jean Champion
- Victor Garrivier
- Gérard Hernandez
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- HBO Max Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, HBO Max
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Coup de Torchon about?
- A humiliated colonial policeman transforms his village's everyday corruption into a grotesque personal campaign of murder.
- What is Coup de Torchon like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Coup de Torchon as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Coup de Torchon violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Coup de Torchon as brutal.
- What did critics think of Coup de Torchon?
- Critics broadly praised the film's performances, stylish visual craftsmanship, and black wit, while some found its momentum emotionally distant or uneven.
- Which films are like Coup de Torchon?
- Films with a similar feel include The City of Violence, The Killing, and The Gravediggers.
- How long is Coup de Torchon?
- Coup de Torchon runs 128 minutes.
- Where can I watch Coup de Torchon?
- In United States, Coup de Torchon streams on HBO Max Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, HBO Max.
