Stavisky

Stavisky is a 1974 French-Italian biographical drama directed by Alain Resnais from a screenplay by Jorge Semprún. Drawing on real events, it follows the rise and fall of Alexandre Stavisky, played by Jean-Paul Belmondo, a swindler and financier whose fraudulent bond schemes funded a life of luxury in 1930s France. As his empire unravels, Stavisky dies under mysterious circumstances in 1934, and the scandal that erupts in his wake shakes the Third Republic to its core: riots erupt in Paris, two prime ministers resign, and the government falls. Anny Duperey appears as Stavisky's wife Arlette. The film features a musical score by Stephen Sondheim. It competed for the Palme d'Or at Cannes, where Charles Boyer received an acting award, later echoed by the New York Film Critics Circle.