The Black Angel (L'Ange noir)

THE BLACK ANGEL

I come out on the arm of shadows,

I am at the bottom of the shadows, alone.

Wait.

Come on.

Police.

- I just killed a man. - Your name?

Stephane Feuvrier.

Where did it happen?

- At our home, the Chateau Marbuzet. - Don't touch a thing.

Hello, Madame Feuvrier.

Please tell my husband

I've just killed a man. Here, at the chateau.

I'll tell him immediately.

Your Honor, I address your impartiality.

Prosecution's unfounded declarations,

of my client's guilt

will influence the jury unfavorably.

It seems to me that you have every occasion...

A message from your wife.

Court is adjourned.

We will resume tomorrow at 2 p. m.

Stephane

has just killed a man.

Who?

Wadek Aslanian.

Where?

At the house.

- Why was he there? - I don't know.

Had you met him before?

No.

And Stephane?

She visited prisons...

Would you like me to drive?

- Where is Madame? - In her room.

The police will soon be here.

Go wait for them.

I want you to accept to defend her.

Thank you for coming, Paul.

Tell me what happened.

He tried to rape me.

What was he doing here?

The police are on their way. Why was he here?

How did you get to know Aslanian?

You know of my work with a charitable organization.

Last year, some of us were invited...

to a show given at a prison. A play.

There were other guests?

Yes, there were even two movie stars.

The play was well-received.

I had no idea he'd written and directed it.

Afterwards, with the others,

I congratulated him. We spoke a little.

I returned to see him at his request.

He told me his story.

According to him, the police conspired against him.

Why?

They hated him.

Our association has a lawyer. We asked him to study his file.

Our lawyer concluded that Aslanian was probably right.

Anyway, there was room for doubt.

This doubt

helped to clear him. But I was no longer involved.

I learned he was pardoned and set free a few months ago.

I met him by chance one day at the association.

He thanked me.

I was told he needed help. We did what we could.

I saw him several times.

A little while ago, he called me in a panic, insisting that I see him.

I hesitated.

I shouldn't have said yes.

He came here two hours ago.

You couldn't see him elsewhere? Like at the association?

He was calling from nearby. It seemed so urgent...

Cecile and Madeleine had just left.

Could he have seen them leave?

Maybe.

He came in.

I noticed immediately

he was drunk. He began circling round me.

He tried to kiss me, to grab my hand, my waist...

I told him to leave. He refused to do so.

I began to get scared. I ran to the phone. He pulled it away.

I tried to run away. I shouted.

That made him laugh. I screamed.

He jumped on me.

He gagged me, dragged me into the bedroom.

He beat me. With his fists.

He threw me on the bed. Then he tried to rape me.

I fought back. It was useless.

I remembered the revolver in the drawer of the night table.

I managed to get it.

I shot him.

You fired every bullet.

You blew his brains out

after he was already dead.

I didn't know what I was doing.

You changed your clothes?

I felt too dirty in the others.

Were you wearing stockings, a slip, undergarments?

I nearly burnt them, they disgusted me so much.

I have bruises

on my thighs, my stomach, my breasts.

Shall I show you?

Was the rape completed? Was there penetration?

I managed to kill him in time. Should I have waited?

Paul must prove that your action was

proportionate to the violence of which you were victim.

Forgive me.

Don't move. Don't touch anything.

- Hello, Detective. - Is he dead?

An immediate death due to bullet wounds.

I am sorry to see you again under such painful circumstances.

Madame.

Hey, Chief...

come see who it is.

That sleazeball Aslanian.

You said on the phone that you killed this man.

Yes.

Take some clothing.

Are you putting me in prison?

First there'll be interrogation. Then you'll be kept in custody.

And then?

That depends on the inspector or on his deputy.

Can my lawyer, Mr. Delorme, come?

Not at this stage.

Will you handcuff me?

That won't be necessary.

He tried to rape your mother. Please take her to her room.

Come, Cecile.

You just have to wait.

Spend whatever is necessary.

Fix your fees accordingly.

Do everything you must to obtain a rapid acquittal.

For once the family fortune will serve a purpose.

Your name?

Stephane Marie-Paule Feuvrier. Nee Perrier. Born in Paris.

I was an orphan very early on.

I was raised by my grandmother in the Rue de Charonne.

Schooling?

After receiving my baccalaureate, I studied law.

My grandmother left me some money,

but I had to work to pay for my studies.

How did you meet your husband?

His brother is a surgeon. I'd had a car accident.

By chance, he operated on me. He pieced me together.

I met his brother

George at the hospital.

We fell in love. That's it.

You have a daughter?

Cecile. She is 16.

She is in her last year at Sainte Marie.

Where did you first meet Aslanian?

In prison.

Which you got him out of.

It was our association's lawyer who did.

Madame,

without knowing it,

you were an instrument in the war Aslanian led against us.

We should hate you. We did hate you.

Despite our deep respect for your husband.

But because of what you did, much, very much...

will be forgiven you.

Hello, Ma'am.

I am sorry to meet you in such terrible circumstances.

Wadek Aslanian is dead.

The outlaw who shared his loot with the poor,

considered by some as

Public Enemy Number 1, by others as a modern-day Robin Hood,

ended his career with a final, provocative bang.

He was killed yesterday by a woman he tried to rape.

Ironically, this woman, the wife of a judge,

helped release him from prison.

He has allegedly committed

robberies all throughout France,

including the casino in Nice and the mail plane in Strasbourg.

This lone thief, at war against policeman and judges,

skillfully pitted...

Act formal in the office.

Don't forget.

Possessing a mastery

of the judicial system...

You have a few messages.

Miss,

I need to review things with Christophe.

Bring me the files, both current and pending.

Hello.

Mr. Zaoui wants to thank you and invite you out to dinner.

Send it through to my desk.

A minute.

No, thank you. Listen, Zaoui: I may defend gangsters

and take their money, but I don't dine with them.

The fees he paid will get us through 6 months.

Don't worry. We won't lose him.

And Aslanian?

They found a lot of alcohol in him.

Proving Stephane right.

Aslanian drank a lot.

Except when he was preparing a heist.

Any bruises on him?