Barocco

Barocco

Year: 1976

Runtime: 110 mins

Language: French

Director: André Téchiné

CrimeThriller

A woman falls in love with the man who killed her former boyfriend.

Warning: spoilers below!

Haven’t seen Barocco yet? This summary contains major spoilers. Bookmark the page, watch the movie, and come back for the full breakdown. If you're ready, scroll on and relive the story!

Timeline & Setting – Barocco (1976)

Explore the full timeline and setting of Barocco (1976). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

Location

Northern European, French-speaking port city

A busy port city in Northern Europe where the docks, trains, and red-light district shape the mood and actions of the characters. The waterfront setting provides cover for criminal plots, newspaper intrigue, and clandestine meetings. Snowy streets and night-time bustle create a noir atmosphere that underpins the film's tension.

🌊 Coastal port 🏙️ European city 🎭 Drama 🕵️ Political intrigue

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 15:30

Main Characters – Barocco (1976)

Meet the key characters of Barocco (1976), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Laure

An aimless young woman who drives the film's action through desire for security and affection. She pushes Samson to lie for money, orchestrates the escape plan, and ultimately accepts a manipulated future by having the killer assume her lover's image.

🎭 Complex protagonist 💃 Social outsider 🕊️ Romantic idealism

Samson / Samson's Killer

A washed-up boxer drawn into a blackmail scheme who is hunted by hitmen. He is killed before the smear turns into a political weapon, and later his image is reimagined by Laure through the killer.

🥊 Former boxer 🗡️ Targeted 🕵️ Shadowy figure

Jules

Nelly's husband, a steady presence who tries to manage the chaos around Laure and the money. He becomes involved in escorting Laure to the train station and navigating the fallout.

👔 Husband 🧭 Protector 🗝️ Complicity

Nelly

Laure's roommate and a compassionate prostitute who runs a show window. She hides the money, helps Laure escape, and becomes entangled in the killer's pursuit.

💃 Prostitute 💰 Money smarts 🏳️‍🌈 Caregiver

Antoinette

Walt's assistant and a reporter in love with him, who aids in the investigation and adds a layer of newsroom romance to the political intrigue.

🗞️ Reporter 💘 Unrequited love 🧭 Insider

Walt

The newspaper editor who pursues the murder mystery and crosses paths with gang leaders, escalating the case into a public scandal.

📰 Editor 🕵️ Investigative ⚖️ Power broker

Gauthier

Leader of the crime gang orchestrating Samson's assassination and playing both criminal and political sides to influence outcomes.

🧭 Gang leader 🕳️ Underworld 🗡️ Manipulator

Samson's Killer

The brunette, loyal gun-for-hire who stalks Laure and impersonates Samson. He is smitten by Laure and agrees to transform into Samson's image, becoming both threat and object of longing.

🗡️ Assassin 💘 Falsified love 🪄 Transformation

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 15:30

Major Themes – Barocco (1976)

Explore the central themes of Barocco (1976), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

🪞 Identity

The film explores reinvention and selfhood as Laure seeks to transform a killer into the image of her deceased lover. The killer adopts Samson's persona to satisfy Laure's desire for love and stability, blurring lines between reality and performance. The narrative uses mimicry and transformation to question what makes a person who they are.

💰 Power

Money is the catalyst that drives every major choice: bribing, fleeing, and exploiting the press. The smear campaign against a politician and the lure of escape reveal how wealth can steer truth and fate. The city's underworld and the press alike show how power operates through control of information and people.

⚔️ Violence

Violence threads through the story as assassinations, shootings, and threats punctuate the drama. The murder of Samson, the danger surrounding Laure, and the killer's lethal craft create a relentless atmosphere of risk. Yet the film also probes the vulnerability of characters who respond to violence with longing and improvisation.

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 15:30

Mobile App Preview

Coming soon on iOS and Android

The Plot Explained Mobile App

From blockbusters to hidden gems — dive into movie stories anytime, anywhere. Save your favorites, discover plots faster, and never miss a twist again.

Sign up to be the first to know when we launch. Your email stays private — always.

Explore Movie Threads

Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.

Bleak Urban Crime Stories with Moral Ambiguity like Barocco

Gritty tales of survival and moral compromise in unforgiving cityscapes.For viewers who liked the gritty, corrupt world of Barocco, this collection features movies like it. These tense crime thrillers are set in melancholic cityscapes where characters face heavy moral choices for survival. If you enjoyed the film's atmospheric dread and complex themes of manipulation, explore similar stories here.

grittyatmospherictensemelancholicanxiousmorally complexsuspenseful

Narrative Summary

Stories in this thread typically follow individuals trapped by the systemic corruption of their environment. Their attempts to survive or escape force them into alliances with dangerous figures and compromise their morals, resulting in a tense, emotionally heavy journey that rarely offers clear-cut redemption.

Why These Movies?

These movies are grouped together for their shared focus on a bleak, atmospheric urban setting that acts as a character itself, a tone of pervasive tension and melancholia, and complex narratives centered on moral ambiguity and the high-stakes cost of freedom.

Thrillers with Dangerous Romances like in Barocco

Forbidden attractions born from betrayal, crime, and shared danger.If you were captivated by the dangerous romance in Barocco, these movies feature similar complex relationships. Discover thrillers and crime dramas where love blossoms from betrayal or shared peril, resulting in emotionally heavy stories with tense, bittersweet endings. Find more films like Barocco that explore the blurred lines between love and survival.

tenseromanticdangeroussuspensefulemotionalanxiousfatalistic

Narrative Summary

The narrative pattern involves a protagonist forming a deep, often fatalistic connection with someone intrinsically linked to a traumatic or criminal event. This romance becomes their sole anchor in a chaotic world, but it's built on a unstable foundation, driving the plot towards an ending where love and survival are inextricably, and painfully, linked.

Why These Movies?

Movies are grouped here for their central focus on a high-stakes romance that develops from a place of danger or moral compromise. They share a heavy emotional weight, a tense tone, and explore the complex psychology of attraction in the shadow of crime or violence.

Unlock the Full Story of Barocco

Don't stop at just watching — explore Barocco in full detail. From the complete plot summary and scene-by-scene timeline to character breakdowns, thematic analysis, and a deep dive into the ending — every page helps you truly understand what Barocco is all about. Plus, discover what's next after the movie.

Barocco Summary

Read a complete plot summary of Barocco, including all key story points, character arcs, and turning points. This in-depth recap is ideal for understanding the narrative structure or reviewing what happened in the movie.

Barocco Summary

Barocco Timeline

Track the full timeline of Barocco with every major event arranged chronologically. Perfect for decoding non-linear storytelling, flashbacks, or parallel narratives with a clear scene-by-scene breakdown.

Barocco Timeline

Barocco Spoiler-Free Summary

Get a quick, spoiler-free overview of Barocco that covers the main plot points and key details without revealing any major twists or spoilers. Perfect for those who want to know what to expect before diving in.

Barocco Spoiler-Free Summary

More About Barocco

Visit What's After the Movie to explore more about Barocco: box office results, cast and crew info, production details, post-credit scenes, and external links — all in one place for movie fans and researchers.

More About Barocco

Similar Movies to Barocco

Discover movies like Barocco that share similar genres, themes, and storytelling elements. Whether you’re drawn to the atmosphere, character arcs, or plot structure, these curated recommendations will help you explore more films you’ll love.