Les Blessures assassines
Directed byJean-Pierre Denis
StarringSylvie Testud as Christine Papin
Julie-Marie Parmentier as Léa Papin
Isabelle Renauld as Clémence
François Levantal as the war veteran
Dominique Labourier as Madame Lancelin
Jean-Gabriel Nordmann as M. Lancelin
Marie Donnio as Geneviève Lancelin
Release date
France 22 November 2000
Running time
94 minutes


Les Blessures assassines is a French film directed by Jean-Pierre Denis, released in 2000, which deals with the Papin sisters. The screenplay by Jean-Pierre Denis with Michèle Patin, was based on the book L'Affaire Papin by Paulette Houdyer which told the story of a double murder that made sensational headlines in France in 1933.


Plot

Christine Papin (Sylvie Testud), and Léa Papin (Julie-Marie Parmentier) are sisters with an already troubled past. Madame Lancelin takes them into her home and employs the girls as maids. Christine sees in Madame Lancelin an ideal mother figure - in spite of her severity. But their wretched background - an indifferent mother and drunken abusive father - casts a shadow over the girls and over time their ill-fated situation darkens. The sisters withdraw into themselves and finish by committing the worst - killing Madame Lancelin and her daughter after six years of service, on the 2 February 1933 in Le Mans.


Awards and Nominations

Sylvie Testud won the César for Best Actress in 2001 for her performance as Christine Papin. The film was nominated for the César for best film, Julie-Marie Parmentier for best young actress and Jean-Pierre Denis for best director.