Le Mystère de la Chambre Jaune /
The Mystery of the Yellow Room (G)

by Bruno Podalydes

Who tried to kill the beautiful Mathilde (Sabine Azéma) at the Château du Glandier? What was the assassin's motive? And how did they escape?

Wry, sophisticated and lucid, this is a captivating comedy-thriller that exploits and subverts the clichés of the whodunnit. With a sparkling cast and razor-sharp mise-en-scène, director Bruno Podalydes spins a dazzling, consummately stylish web of mystery and murder, reminiscent of 8 Femmes and Robert Altman's Gosford Park.

A young reporter Joseph Rouletabille (Denis Podalydès), accompanied by his friend and photographer Sainclair (Jean-Noël Brouté), is on his way to the Château to solve the mystery of the yellow room. But there, the famous inspector Frédéric Larsan (Pierre Arditi) already suspects Robert Darzac, Mathilde's fiancé...

The Mystery of the Yellow Room is based on beloved source material written by Gaston Leroux (of Phantom of the Opera fame) and is a classic "locked room" mystery in which the investigators must figure out how a woman was attacked if there was no way in or out of her room at the time of the incident! An enormous box office success in France, work has already started on the sequel, The Perfume of the Lady in Black - with Podalydes in the director's chair.

France- 2003- Comedy thriller - 118 min - French with English subtitles
Director: Bruno Podalydès
Script: Bruno Podalydès
With: Denis Podalydès, Pierre Arditi, Sabine Azéma, Claude Rich, Jean Noël Brouté, Olivier Gourmet, Michael Lonsdale, Isabelle Candelier, Julos Beaucarne, Bruno Podalydès
Distributor in Australia: Hopscotch