Neige 03/24 Blu-ray (Rental)

FROM THE NEON UNDERWORLD OF EARLY 1980s PARIS COME TWO STYLISH, ATMOSPHERIC FILM NOIR CLASSICS… JULIET BERTO & JEAN-HENRI ROGER'S NEIGE & CHRISTINE PASCAL'S THE BITCH. NEIGE (SNOW): This drama about a barmaid caught up in events beyond her control is the first film directed by Juliet Berto, and was also based on her own concept for the story. The barmaid, played by Berto, has been trying to take care of Bobby, a teenage drug pusher who is in over his head. Before she can put him back on track and get him out of the drug underworld, the young man is killed while being chased by a narcotics agent. Depressed by his death but not derailed, she finds herself trying to help out a gay user who depended on Bobby for his supply of drugs. She decides to procure some drugs for the desperate addict, and is trapped in the bathroom of a bar - with the drugs - when narcotics agents burst upon the scene. Her boyfriend rushes to help her but is killed by an agent who shoots first and thinks later. The barmaid does not face a very optimistic future as the narc arrests her - but releases a parish minister who had been helping her find a source for the drugs. THE BITCH (LA GARCE): One evening, Police Detective Lucien Sabatier (Richard Berry) picks up seventeen-year-old Aline (Isabelle Hupert) on the road and assaults her. The following day, the teenager reports the offence. Sabatier is arrested and sentenced to six years in prison. When he gets out, he becomes a private detective and finds Aline, who is hiding under an assumed name.