Breaking the rules: the films of Claude Chabrol

In this video essay, critic Elena Lazic argues that Claude Chabrol’s genius was often defined by the rules he chose to challenge.

A founder of the French New Wave and a key critic at Cahiers de Cinema, Claude Chabrol was at the centre of a film-making revolution. Yet, despite these early allegiances, Chabrol’s filmography is notable for how much he pushed against the boundaries of schools of thought and even - through his love of murderous detective stories - society’s moral codes.