DOCTEUR PETIOT, starring Michel Serrault, is a brutal story about a brutal man. A doctor who heals the sick in occupied France, even if their ability to compensate is not there. Yet, he preys on the weakest amidst the populace. The imagery and cinematography are superb, and lend an additional macabre feeling to this complex story. He is the perfect psychopath. Seductive and altruistic, intelligent and caring, calculating and murderous. A movie certain not to be forgotten soon by the viewer. Kudos to Mr. Serrault, for his chilling portrayal.
9 Reviews
Hugely entertaining account of a French mass murderer
POB-225 January 1999
From the opening sequence in a cinema when Dr Petiot (the extraordinary Michel Serrault) seethes with indignation at the puny evil portrayed by a Nosferatu-like character on-screen and then enters the action (a la Purple Rose of Cairo), you know this is an unusual movie experience. The story is strongly based on the real Petiot, a deranged but extremely clever, even witty, physician who preyed on desperate people fleeing the Holocaust and enriched himself in the process, then escaped arrest and built a new career as a French army doctor. When, finally, the real Petiot was brought to trial, he became an instant celebrity and the event a true cause celebre. This movie was something of a labour of love for Serrault and at a time when Roberto Benigni's La Vita e Bella is causing a sensation, this sleeper should become far better known.
Compelling art film
Rosabel30 November 2006
I discovered this film after reading the book that inspired it. It is not a strictly biographical film; it is "loosely based" on the facts. But I found it a compelling and eerie exploration of evil and madness, and Michel Serrault gives an unforgettable performance as Dr. Petiot.
There are many memorable images in this movie; Petiot traveling through the night like a vampire, his black cloak flapping behind him, is almost iconic. There are also several touches of expressionism - Petiot's crooked silhouette mounting the stairs leading from the cellar where the butchered remains of his victims await cremation, reminds me of some scenes from 'Nosferatu'.
But I found the primary appeal of this movie to be aural. The soundtrack is loaded with ominous sounds, starting with the foreboding music of the opening credits, accompanied by wordless wailing. Petiot lives and runs his medical practice in a complex with many small shops, and there is a persistent background noise of knives being sharpened somewhere, as well as a peddler playing eerie tunes on a saw. There are animal noises as well - the concierge keeps a goat, unseen cats howl - and later in the film we see hapless cattle being herded through an underpass. The whole atmosphere is unsettling, with overtones of violence and slaughter.
Not only animals, but human voices are often heard - the screams of Gestapo victims, Petiot's patients in his waiting room, monitored by a listening device, just the same as the suspected collaborators after the war are monitored in their cells. Even the action of the film is often arranged so that we hear the voices of the participants without seeing them - when Petiot goes to see Mme Kern, we hear her singing as she works, her voice echoing in the theater, before we ever see her. And even when she does appear, she is often filmed from behind, her voice calling out to her husband, whose voice calls out to her in conversation. Disembodied voices echo in large halls, and their owners, when seen at all, are photographed at a distance, so we cannot actually see them speaking. This is a ghost story, and these are the voices of ghosts - many of them Petiot's future victims.
Yet Petiot himself is often only a voice; his frightening laughter echoes as he retreats from the camera, throwing comments behind him or into the air to nobody. In a way, he is as much a ghost as those he murders. He is always frantically busy, scurrying from appointment to appointment, never at rest. But his activity is that of a machine - lifeless and imperturbable. It is interesting that among all the horror and danger of occupied Paris, Petiot alone is unafraid; he is amused, enthusiastic, angry, irritated, contemptuous, but never afraid, unlike those real people he lures to their deaths. It is no surprise that he boasts of his mechanical inventions, including a perpetual motion machine (a true detail from the book - he did claim to have invented many machines); he is a sort of perpetual motion machine himself. And mechanical imagery is everywhere in the film, from the opening giant wheel in the movie house, to Petiot's bicycle (with its squeaking wheels echoing the sound of sharpening knives), to the Victrola he keeps winding up to play music before he makes a kill. Even his routine with his victims is mechanical - write a note to your wife, let me disguise you before you leave, you need a vaccination, Barcelona, Casablanca, Dakar - like a well-oiled machine, the routine is always the same, just as the record is always the same.
Maeder, the author, says that it was the clockwork perfection of his crimes that weighed so heavily against Petiot at his trial. His system was as smooth and efficient as a Nazi concentration camp, and this may be why the movie invents a subplot of Petiot's involvement with the French Gestapo and the occupying Nazis. Unfortunately, it doesn't quite work as part of the story, because it's very hard to figure out just what Petiot is doing for the collaborators, or what is going on when he ends up at their headquarters in the middle of the night. Disposing of bodies? Hiding stolen goods? It's hard to say, and harder to believe; it's not likely the state would turn to a freelancer like Petiot.
But it does remind us of the duality of evil people; Petiot is a robber and a murderer, but he is also a devoted father and husband. Just as we learned that Hitler loved dogs, and that Nazis guilty of the worst war crimes could also be loving fathers and family men, so we have to recognize that Petiot could commit unspeakable horrors and yet also function normally. His insanity is easily camouflaged by the insanity and horror of the wartime situation in Paris; when killing, robbing and disappearing are happening all around, nobody pays attention as Petiot tosses more corpses on the pile.
There are many memorable images in this movie; Petiot traveling through the night like a vampire, his black cloak flapping behind him, is almost iconic. There are also several touches of expressionism - Petiot's crooked silhouette mounting the stairs leading from the cellar where the butchered remains of his victims await cremation, reminds me of some scenes from 'Nosferatu'.
But I found the primary appeal of this movie to be aural. The soundtrack is loaded with ominous sounds, starting with the foreboding music of the opening credits, accompanied by wordless wailing. Petiot lives and runs his medical practice in a complex with many small shops, and there is a persistent background noise of knives being sharpened somewhere, as well as a peddler playing eerie tunes on a saw. There are animal noises as well - the concierge keeps a goat, unseen cats howl - and later in the film we see hapless cattle being herded through an underpass. The whole atmosphere is unsettling, with overtones of violence and slaughter.
Not only animals, but human voices are often heard - the screams of Gestapo victims, Petiot's patients in his waiting room, monitored by a listening device, just the same as the suspected collaborators after the war are monitored in their cells. Even the action of the film is often arranged so that we hear the voices of the participants without seeing them - when Petiot goes to see Mme Kern, we hear her singing as she works, her voice echoing in the theater, before we ever see her. And even when she does appear, she is often filmed from behind, her voice calling out to her husband, whose voice calls out to her in conversation. Disembodied voices echo in large halls, and their owners, when seen at all, are photographed at a distance, so we cannot actually see them speaking. This is a ghost story, and these are the voices of ghosts - many of them Petiot's future victims.
Yet Petiot himself is often only a voice; his frightening laughter echoes as he retreats from the camera, throwing comments behind him or into the air to nobody. In a way, he is as much a ghost as those he murders. He is always frantically busy, scurrying from appointment to appointment, never at rest. But his activity is that of a machine - lifeless and imperturbable. It is interesting that among all the horror and danger of occupied Paris, Petiot alone is unafraid; he is amused, enthusiastic, angry, irritated, contemptuous, but never afraid, unlike those real people he lures to their deaths. It is no surprise that he boasts of his mechanical inventions, including a perpetual motion machine (a true detail from the book - he did claim to have invented many machines); he is a sort of perpetual motion machine himself. And mechanical imagery is everywhere in the film, from the opening giant wheel in the movie house, to Petiot's bicycle (with its squeaking wheels echoing the sound of sharpening knives), to the Victrola he keeps winding up to play music before he makes a kill. Even his routine with his victims is mechanical - write a note to your wife, let me disguise you before you leave, you need a vaccination, Barcelona, Casablanca, Dakar - like a well-oiled machine, the routine is always the same, just as the record is always the same.
Maeder, the author, says that it was the clockwork perfection of his crimes that weighed so heavily against Petiot at his trial. His system was as smooth and efficient as a Nazi concentration camp, and this may be why the movie invents a subplot of Petiot's involvement with the French Gestapo and the occupying Nazis. Unfortunately, it doesn't quite work as part of the story, because it's very hard to figure out just what Petiot is doing for the collaborators, or what is going on when he ends up at their headquarters in the middle of the night. Disposing of bodies? Hiding stolen goods? It's hard to say, and harder to believe; it's not likely the state would turn to a freelancer like Petiot.
But it does remind us of the duality of evil people; Petiot is a robber and a murderer, but he is also a devoted father and husband. Just as we learned that Hitler loved dogs, and that Nazis guilty of the worst war crimes could also be loving fathers and family men, so we have to recognize that Petiot could commit unspeakable horrors and yet also function normally. His insanity is easily camouflaged by the insanity and horror of the wartime situation in Paris; when killing, robbing and disappearing are happening all around, nobody pays attention as Petiot tosses more corpses on the pile.
Very strong film, great acting - stunning
antoinebachmann11 December 2006
This is easily a 9. Michel Serrault, known more for comic roles in the earlier part of his acting career, does a stunning, even worryingly stunning job of impersonating Dr Petiot, a legendary French serial killer.
He is just so believable at every and any moment in the film, that the actor completely disappears behind the character - only the very best ever achieve this feat, and when they do it is only in a handful of parts at best.
The whole story (a real story which happened in 20th century France) is so powerful, so sinister - it makes for a very strong film that one remembers for a long, long time.
He is just so believable at every and any moment in the film, that the actor completely disappears behind the character - only the very best ever achieve this feat, and when they do it is only in a handful of parts at best.
The whole story (a real story which happened in 20th century France) is so powerful, so sinister - it makes for a very strong film that one remembers for a long, long time.
The fascination of evil
tony-70-66792018 December 2020
I saw this film when it was released in the UK, and it's one of the most memorable I've seen (and I've seen thousands!) It has a tone all its own, and features probably Michel Serrault's greatest performance. I can still see him going about his grisly business to the accompaniment of tango music.
We had our own, more recent version of Petiot in Dr. Harold Shipman, who ushered many of his old patients into the next world. As with Petiot, you got the impression that it wasn't so much greed as the enjoyment of killing and getting away with it that motivated him. People will always be fascinated by such cases: it's a sad fact that evil is more interesting than good.
The film is obviously best enjoyed on the big screen, but Richard Maddock and anyone else who wants to see it on DVD with English subtitles should e-mail Movie Detective, based in Seattle. Their DVDs are all regions, and they have enabled me to see so many rare films which are unavailable elsewhere. This one isn't on their site, but is available by e-mail.
A black legend slowly fading away.
dbdumonteil11 November 2003
When I was a child,I often heard my parents talk about the sinister docteur Petiot.It was widely talked about ,and this docteur Petiot,whom I knew through the tales my folks used to tell in the evening,was some kind of fairytale ogre.I must say I never scared my own children with those horrible stories of my childhood.
It took half a century to be brought to the screen.Christian de Challonges,who had already tackled fantasy successfully -"l'alliance"(1970),which remains unfairly overlooked today- and much less so with the overrated "malevil"(1980)which already featured MIchel Serrault.
But,I hear you say ,docteur Petiot is a true story and you are talking about fantasy genre.Simply because Challonges 's treatment is close to fantasy ,nay horror movie.It' s no coincidence if the movie in the movie which opens the work recalls Murnau and his Nosferatu.The settings,the make-ups -Serrault himself is sometimes unrecognizable-,the huge mansion where the killer keeps his loot,which he steals from the Jews he does away with,after promising them a "better world" ,which is not a lie after all,are strongly influenced by German expressionism ,not a bad choice.A recurrent picture is particularly stunning:Petiot riding his bike,his black cloak flowing in the dark,looks like a vampire .In a nutshell,"docteur¨Petiot" is a gruesome farce ,because a very black humor is always present:the news film ,in the movie theater ,speaks about Petiot as the biggest killer of the 20th century,and however,there were people who were working on a much larger scale at the time.
That said,the scenes do not always hang well together as the script is not always satisfying,but this is minor quibble:"docteur Petiot" is a movie I recommend along with contemporary Claude Chabrol's "une affaire de femmes" ,which,although more conventional ,is another good example of war profiteers.What's fascinating is that the two heroes (Serrault as Petiot and Huppert as a backstreet abortionist-do believe they are completely innocent and that they helped people all in all.Both were guillotined.
It took half a century to be brought to the screen.Christian de Challonges,who had already tackled fantasy successfully -"l'alliance"(1970),which remains unfairly overlooked today- and much less so with the overrated "malevil"(1980)which already featured MIchel Serrault.
But,I hear you say ,docteur Petiot is a true story and you are talking about fantasy genre.Simply because Challonges 's treatment is close to fantasy ,nay horror movie.It' s no coincidence if the movie in the movie which opens the work recalls Murnau and his Nosferatu.The settings,the make-ups -Serrault himself is sometimes unrecognizable-,the huge mansion where the killer keeps his loot,which he steals from the Jews he does away with,after promising them a "better world" ,which is not a lie after all,are strongly influenced by German expressionism ,not a bad choice.A recurrent picture is particularly stunning:Petiot riding his bike,his black cloak flowing in the dark,looks like a vampire .In a nutshell,"docteur¨Petiot" is a gruesome farce ,because a very black humor is always present:the news film ,in the movie theater ,speaks about Petiot as the biggest killer of the 20th century,and however,there were people who were working on a much larger scale at the time.
That said,the scenes do not always hang well together as the script is not always satisfying,but this is minor quibble:"docteur Petiot" is a movie I recommend along with contemporary Claude Chabrol's "une affaire de femmes" ,which,although more conventional ,is another good example of war profiteers.What's fascinating is that the two heroes (Serrault as Petiot and Huppert as a backstreet abortionist-do believe they are completely innocent and that they helped people all in all.Both were guillotined.
just wonderful
anthonymcdonald-5290210 March 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Loved this movie, so many images still in my mind, Petiot on that crazy bike cycling through the underworld of Paris with the black cape flowing behind him. the scenes where he should be caught with the smoke blowing out from the furnace but bluffs his way by telling the police its "The Résistance".
Michel Serrault is superb, have a look at Le Caux be Follies and try and match the two. What a performance.
Loved the whole thing but the sets and shots of Paris caught by the team bring you right back to occupied France and the fear, the cheating only in such a sick society could the Doctor have operated
CATCH IT .
A very scary movie.
leybarsinister3 November 2003
A very scary movie.Based on the true-life exploits of Marcel Petiot, this film is an experience not to be forgotten.The movie has everything. Brilliant direction,exceptional cinematography,fine acting & a chilling soundtrack.20th century man is more scarier than any monster dreamed up by Hollywood!This amazing film scores 10/10 in my book.A must see.
Terrific portrait of evil
lor_28 May 2023
Warning: Spoilers
My review was written in September 1990 after a New York Film Festival screening.
Michel Serrault's tour-de-force performance as "Dr. Petiot" illuminates a sordid episode in a dark chapter of French history: the German Occupation during World War II. The film's stylish approach overcomes the morbid nature of its subject matter and makes for a potent arthouse attraction via Aries release.
On pic's home turf, Serrault and ongoing interest in this period (Claude Chabrol hit with "Story of Women") should attract attention and box office.
The venal and negative aspects of behavior of many Parisians during the Occupation was brilliantly captured in Claude Autant-Lara's 1956 classic "Four Bags Full", in which Jean Gabin and Bourvil portrayed two contrasting types involved in the black market.
In "Dr. Petito", Serrault and his director Christian de Chalonge tackle the difficult matter of a physician who was secretly a serial killer. Under the pretext of assisting Jews in fleeing the country (supposedly headed for Argentina), he killed them with lethal injections he claimed were vaccinations, stole their valuables and dispensed of the corpses in a homemade crematorium.
Petitot's crimes were not discovered until 1944 when a fire in his furnace got out of control and attracted the gendarmes and fire brigade. He escaped apprehension, fo9und new identities including a interrogator of suspected collaborationists and was finally caught and guillotined on 27 counts of murder in 1946.
This grisly subject matter recalls Richard Fleischer's fine film "10 Rillington Place" about the fake doctor Christie's London murders during the '40s. Unlike that film's realism, de Chalonge adopts a fantastic, almost expressionistic approach, beginning with Serrault literally jumping into a movie screen showing a vampire film.
What follows are stylized episodes noted by color drained visuals, exotic makeup (Petitot's heavy eyeliner suggests screen heavie of yore). Serrault's flamboyant performance, constantly on the move and even dancing around the room as he ransacks his victims' belongings, is outstanding and cleverly leavened with moments of black humor.
Graphic depiction of his deeds are wisely left to the imagination, yet the horrendous nature of this parallel episode to the contemporaneous Nazi death camps comes through forcefully. Also notable is de Chalonge's inclusion of the anit-Semitic newsreel propaganda projected before the feature at the local Parisian cinema, documenting a 1942 exhibtion on "Jewish traits".
Petiot is apprehended in a movie theater after writing an open letter on his deeds to the newspaper, which matches up with his own handwriting. Crashing through a movie screen the second time, he doesn't escape into fantasy but into the hands of the police.
Serrault dominates the film, with a supporting cast of unfamiliar thesps well-matched to their roles. Patrick Blossier's deep focus photography is arresting, including several scenes in a vast arcade where Petiot lives that recall Orson Welles' setting for "The Trial".
Michel Portal contributes bandoneon music for the ironic scenes of Serralutl serenading his duped victims "headed for Argentina". Elsewhere, a saw played by an old man at the arcade adds to the film's eerie mood.
Michel Serrault's tour-de-force performance as "Dr. Petiot" illuminates a sordid episode in a dark chapter of French history: the German Occupation during World War II. The film's stylish approach overcomes the morbid nature of its subject matter and makes for a potent arthouse attraction via Aries release.
On pic's home turf, Serrault and ongoing interest in this period (Claude Chabrol hit with "Story of Women") should attract attention and box office.
The venal and negative aspects of behavior of many Parisians during the Occupation was brilliantly captured in Claude Autant-Lara's 1956 classic "Four Bags Full", in which Jean Gabin and Bourvil portrayed two contrasting types involved in the black market.
In "Dr. Petito", Serrault and his director Christian de Chalonge tackle the difficult matter of a physician who was secretly a serial killer. Under the pretext of assisting Jews in fleeing the country (supposedly headed for Argentina), he killed them with lethal injections he claimed were vaccinations, stole their valuables and dispensed of the corpses in a homemade crematorium.
Petitot's crimes were not discovered until 1944 when a fire in his furnace got out of control and attracted the gendarmes and fire brigade. He escaped apprehension, fo9und new identities including a interrogator of suspected collaborationists and was finally caught and guillotined on 27 counts of murder in 1946.
This grisly subject matter recalls Richard Fleischer's fine film "10 Rillington Place" about the fake doctor Christie's London murders during the '40s. Unlike that film's realism, de Chalonge adopts a fantastic, almost expressionistic approach, beginning with Serrault literally jumping into a movie screen showing a vampire film.
What follows are stylized episodes noted by color drained visuals, exotic makeup (Petitot's heavy eyeliner suggests screen heavie of yore). Serrault's flamboyant performance, constantly on the move and even dancing around the room as he ransacks his victims' belongings, is outstanding and cleverly leavened with moments of black humor.
Graphic depiction of his deeds are wisely left to the imagination, yet the horrendous nature of this parallel episode to the contemporaneous Nazi death camps comes through forcefully. Also notable is de Chalonge's inclusion of the anit-Semitic newsreel propaganda projected before the feature at the local Parisian cinema, documenting a 1942 exhibtion on "Jewish traits".
Petiot is apprehended in a movie theater after writing an open letter on his deeds to the newspaper, which matches up with his own handwriting. Crashing through a movie screen the second time, he doesn't escape into fantasy but into the hands of the police.
Serrault dominates the film, with a supporting cast of unfamiliar thesps well-matched to their roles. Patrick Blossier's deep focus photography is arresting, including several scenes in a vast arcade where Petiot lives that recall Orson Welles' setting for "The Trial".
Michel Portal contributes bandoneon music for the ironic scenes of Serralutl serenading his duped victims "headed for Argentina". Elsewhere, a saw played by an old man at the arcade adds to the film's eerie mood.
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