Trans-Europ-Express

Trans-Europ-Express is a 1966 French-Belgian black-and-white experimental thriller written and directed by Alain Robbe-Grillet, who also appears in the film. Shot in French and Dutch and running 94 minutes, it takes its title from the Trans Europ Express, the international European rail network of the era, and reached German cinemas in 1967.

Its frame story follows a creative team devising a film plot during a train journey to Antwerp, intercut with the film-within-a-film they imagine: the adventures of Elias, a novice smuggler carrying a cocaine shipment from Paris, which develop partly beyond his creators' control. Jean-Louis Trintignant and Marie-France Pisier play both the characters and themselves, while Catherine Robbe-Grillet, Charles Millot and Christian Barbier round out the cast. Its unconventional narrative has made it a landmark of experimental cinema.