Trans-Europ-Express
1966
Film, 01:45:00.
Materials: Feature film
Alain Robbe-Grillet was writer and filmmaker associated with the Nouveau Roman (New Novel) literary movement in France during the 1960s. His film Trans-Europ-Express is an erotic crime thriller starring Jean-Louis Trintignant and Marie-France Pisier. Referring to the former Trans Europe Express rail network in Europe, it is the story of a protagonist smuggling cocaine from Paris to Antwerp, who becomes caught up in encounters of erotic fantasy, sadomasochism and murder. Experimental in nature, Trans-Europ-Express has been described as a film-within-a-film with a non-linear story. The director appears at certain moment as himself discussing the film, and rail passengers even discuss the plot, at one point suggesting that diamond smuggling might make a more relevant story than cocaine, given Antwerp's history in diamond trading.