Les risques du métier

Abuse was not a subject people used to talk about in the late sixties.How many children suffered and refused to speak?André Cayatte ,the former lawyer ,was the first in France to tackle this taboo subject.Often dismissed as unhip and academic by the likes of the nouvelle vague,Cayatte was nevertheless the first to broach euthanasia long before "whose life is it anyway?" ("justice est faite" )or death penalty before "I want to live" ("Nous sommes tous des assassins) .

A schoolteacher is accused of rape by one ,then two ,three of his pupils."The risks of the job"!(check the title).Overnight,it completely breaks his life.For his wife,it's also a nightmare.It was singer Jacques Brel's first (and best) part and he had good support from Emmanuelle Riva -the scene when she depicts the torture of the wheel to her stunned pupils may be the best of the whole movie.

Actually,this movie,although very conventional in its form ,was ahead of its time:take a good look at what happens everyday .Pedophilia was not born yesterday and now every month brings a new affair,concerning the humble like this teacher and also the high and the mighty,guilty or not..