User reviews

Although considered "the other new wave" by some critics,"Les Ruses Du Diable" (the devil's trick ) is actually very close to the "true" new wave :a vague screenplay ,filming on location,and ,like "Cleo De 5 à 7" ,the cast and credits are in color whereas the rest of the movie is in black and white .What makes a difference with the Young Turks ,is that the cult of youth is not so glaring:the most interesting scenes show the Young dressmaker's apprentice 's relationship with an old lady (who will come back in a fantasy sequence) and a strange metaphor with the rose (influenced by Ronsard's poetry?) But as for the rest ,it's N.W. from start to finish: the apprentice receives banknotes by mail and she wonders who and why she would be given so much money;she investigates and we follow her,as she rambles through the Streets of the town ,and then in the country,where her mother reveals family secrets .It's sometimes relatively interesting,often tedious .The mysterious ending may confuse the average viewer.

There are guest stars: Michel Piccoli ,but he has almost nothing to do,Jean_Claude Drouot -the brats'hero,"Thierry La Fronde" ,who also played in Agnes Varda's "Le Bonheur" and Chabrol's "La Rupture" (IMHO ,his best part), here cast as a casual lover,afraid to lose his wife and family.