A Comedy of Power

by Claude Chabrol

Jeanne Charmant Killman, examining magistrate, must sort out and prepare for judgment a complex case of misappropriation and embezzlement of public funds implicating the president of an important industrial firm. As her investigation and interrogations progress, she realises that her power grows: the more she delves into secrets, the more her means of applying pressure increase. However, at the same time, and for the same reasons, her private life becomes more fragile. Until what point can she continue to increase this power without clashing with a power greater than her own? Until what point can human nature resist the intoxication of this power?