The Fire Within (1963) on Netflix
Declared cured after four months of treatment for alcoholism, Alain Leroy leaves his clinic in Versailles. In Paris he looks up friends and old lovers, hoping to find a reason to live.
- Netflix2.7/5
- IMDb7.8/1011,798 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes82%
Trailer
Plot summary
Alain Leroy has spent four months at Dr. La Barbinais' clinic in Versailles, being treated for alcoholism. His American wife, Dorothy, lives in New York; the two are separated. On his first night away from the clinic he meets Lydia, a friend of Dorothy's who is visiting France. She tells him he is cured and invites him back to New York, but he refuses, and her work keeps her from staying. Back at the clinic, Dr. La Barbinais tells him he has been well for a while and suggests he move out and get on with his life. Alain answers that if he leaves he will drink again, and says he intends to leave before the week is out. He then hitches a ride to Paris, where he means to look up old friends and lovers.
Cast
- René Dupuyas Charlie
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Fire Within (1963)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
SPOILER
Louis Malle's The Fire Within influenced Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), which has a character say "I'm going to kill myself tomorrow", the English translation of a line from Malle's film; it also inspired Joachim Trier's Oslo, August 31st.- The film is based on Pierre Drieu La Rochelle's 1931 novel Will O' the Wisp, which was inspired by the life of the poet Jacques Rigaut.
