A new season of French cinema – this time looking at a different type of comedy each month.

This month it’s black comedy, with a screening of Bertrand Tavernier’s dark masterpiece Coup de Torchon (1981). The film is an adaptation of Jim Thompson’s 1964 novel Pop. 1280, changing the novel’s setting from a West Texas oil boom town to a small town in French West Africa.

Hapless Lucien Cordier (Philippe Noiret) is the beleaguered police chief of a small town in French colonial Senegal. The local criminals openly mock Lucien’s inability to put a stop to their illegal enterprises, and his unfaithful and shrewish wife Huguette (Stéphane Audran) is having a blatant affair with Nono (Eddy Mitchell), whom Lucien believes is her brother. When the humiliations finally become too much for him to bear, Lucien takes matters into his own hands.

A themed talk from Jon Davies will precede the screening.

Doors open at 13.30, for a 14.30 start.

Refreshments will be available in our licensed cafe/bar.

TICKETS & PRICING

Tickets in advance £8.50 (£6.50 concessions). On the door £10 (£7 concessions).

Advance tickets may be purchased from Billetto, or direct from the Museum by calling 020 7840 2200 in office hours.