Head Against the Wall (La Tete contre les murs) (1958)

12% want to see it
(117 ratings)

La Tete Contre Les Muirs (U.S. title: The Keepers) was director Georges Franju's 2nd cinematic offering for 1958, and his first purely fictional film. Franju's prior training in documentaries helps to bring a veneer of reality to this harrowing glimpse within the walls of an insane asylum. Pierre… More La Tete Contre Les Muirs (U.S. title: The Keepers) was director Georges Franju's 2nd cinematic offering for 1958, and his first purely fictional film. Franju's prior training in documentaries helps to bring a veneer of reality to this harrowing glimpse within the walls of an insane asylum. Pierre Brasseur plays Marbeau, a traditionalist "head doctor" who takes on the case of young Francois (Jean-Paul Mocky). Though not really insane, Francois has been institutionalized for daring to defy his wealthy father. The story is told from Francois' point of view, as he teeters on the edge of madness during his involuntary internment. The film is essentially a plea for more sensible treatment of the mentally disturbed and the emotionally distressed, calling for much-needed widespread reforms -- something that, alas, was not readily forthcoming in the late 1950s. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 35 min.
Directed By: Georges Franju
Written By: Herve Bazin, Jean-Pierre Mocky
Genres: Art House & International, Drama

Studio: Les Films Sirius

Critic Reviews

Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion
An exposé out of Kafka and Foucault
Anton Bitel, Little White Lies
commenting on the difficult dynamic between freedom and control within any system... it is an important missing link between the cinéma du papa and the emerging nouvelle vague

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Cast

Pierre Brasseur
as Marbeau
Paul Meurisse
as Emery
Jean-Pierre Mocky
as Francois

See full cast

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