Nada (1974)

Director:

Claude Chabrol

Writers:

Claude Chabrol (writer)
Antonietta Malzieri (writer)

Release Date:

21 June 1974 (West Germany)

Genre:

Thriller

Plot:

Quand Edouard est approché pour qu'il kidnappe l'ambassadeur des Etats-Unis en France, il refuse. En suite...

Plot Keywords:

Terrorist | Violence | Police | American Ambassador | Commando

Cast

Fabio Testi	...	Buenaventura Diaz
Lou Castel	...	D'Arey
Mariangela Melato	...	Veronique Cash
Michel Aumont	...	Goemond
Michel Duchaussoy	...	Marcel Treuffais
Maurice Garrel	...	André Épaulard
Didier Kaminka	...	Meyer
André Falcon	...	Le ministre / The Minister
François Perrot
Viviane Romance	...	Madame Gabrielle
Lyle Joyce	...	Richard Poindexter
Henri Attal
Jean-Marie Arnoux
George Birt
François Cadet

Also Known As:

Sterminate gruppo Zero (Italy)
The Nada Gang (International: English title)
Epiheirisis: Ora miden (Greece) [el]
Nada (Sweden) [sv]
Nada (Argentina) [es]
Nada csoport (Hungary) [hu]
Terroristiryhmä Nada (Finland) [fi]

Runtime:

Germany:132 min | Argentina:133 min | USA:110 min

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | West Germany:18 (nf) (bw) | Argentina:16 | UK:X (original rating) | UK:18 (video rating) (1995) | UK:15 (DVD rating) (2005) | Netherlands:18

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

Italian International Film

Movie Connections:

Featured in Le fils de Gascogne (1995)

Not the best that Chabrol has to offer

Claude Chabrol had his golden period in the late sixties and early seventies with films like This Man Must Die, The Breach and Wedding in Blood. These films were great because Chabrol delivered thrills and complex characters in equal measures; but Nada is something of a change of pace and unfortunately this film is not vintage Chabrol. The film features basically a criminal plot and this is mixed in with political elements. From a personal point of view, politics doesn't interest me that much anyway; but that is especially true here as Chabrol isn't able to spin an interesting story out of it. The plot focuses on a group of kidnappers that call themselves 'NADA'. They hatch a plot to kidnap the American ambassador, take him back to their hideaway and wait for the Government to give into their ransom demands. The plot goes smoothly; but the gang encounter trouble when internal rivalries begin to spring up; and they find out that the police chief they're up against is less forgiving than they are.

From Claude Chabrol I have come to expect intriguing and meaningful films that work on a multitude of levels. Part of the reason why I don't consider Nada to be anything like Chabrol's best work is simply because I don't care about the subject matter (as opposed to the best of Chabrol, which have the ability to appeal to everyone). However, the fact still remains that this is not a particularly good film. The point of the film is muddled at best and Chabrol's message is always hazy. The plotting is not particularly exciting and since the plot line is not interesting; Nada does at times become difficult to follow. To its credit, the film is rather well made and as always Chabrol does a good job of staging and setting scenes. The acting is decent too and Chabrol has brought together a varied and interesting cast, headed by Italian actor Fabio Testi, who plays their respective roles well. Overall I would not recommend this to my fellow Chabrol fans; the great director has a vast filmography filled with classics and I would recommend seeing those instead.