Genealogies of a Crime

During a stormy night, René disposes of a knife, which is then picked up by an unrevealed individual. This act sets a mysterious tone for the story, hinting at potential violence. The scene fades to a chessboard, symbolizing strategic and psychological themes in the plot.

The narrator recounts an ancient Chinese fable about a young man who kills a woman of the Liu Bao family, only to be killed after falling in love with her ghost. This story parallels the themes of love, death, and the supernatural present in the film.

Presumably later, Solange begins recounting her involvement in René’s case to a lawyer. She explains how she took on the case after her son Pascal's death and introduces René, who is accused of murdering his aunt Jeanne. This marks the beginning of her detailed narrative.

At Jeanne’s funeral, Solange meets Georges Didier, the eccentric head of the Psychoanalytic Society. His unusual behavior, such as quick temper and reliance on a notebook, immediately stands out as significant to the story’s psychological themes.

Solange meets René, who claims he wants to be her friend. They play a role-reversal game, during which Solange reveals her reputation for hopeless cases and her lack of success, deepening their complex relationship.

Solange reads Jeanne’s diary, which reveals that René exhibited violent and destructive behavior from childhood, including fascination with knives. Jeanne notes René’s troubling tendencies, hinting at his potential for violence.

Jeanne attempts to treat René with the role-reversal game, discovering that he has hidden stolen items around the estate. During his young adulthood, René reaches out to Jeanne for money, indicating ongoing financial and behavioral issues.

Jeanne catches René stealing her furniture and, in anger, shoots him in the arm during a heated role-reversal game. René insists that the game is over, representing a turning point before her eventual murder of René.

Jeanne records her suspicions that René was trained to kill her, implying she may have facilitated her own death. René later attempts suicide, and Solange formulates her theory that Jeanne's training led René to murder her.

Solange begins to suspect Georges Didier is involved in the psychological manipulations surrounding René. Her mother Louise dies suddenly of a heart attack, deepening her emotional turmoil.

René attempts suicide in the hospital, while Georges conducts a disturbing tableau vivantly experimental ceremony on René, which involves blindfolded participants and reveals Georges’ manipulation of René’s mind.

René claims his actions were triggered after the psychoanalytic ritual, leading to his acquittal. The Franco-Belgian Psychoanalytic Society’s reputation is destroyed, causing its members to commit mass suicide.

René reappears and begins a relationship with Solange. Their connection turns abusive as René’s behavior becomes increasingly unstable, foreshadowing further tragedy.

In a culmination of her own suppressed childhood tendencies, Solange murders René and his friends, ending the cycle of violence and deception. She confesses her act to her lawyer, deciding to plead insanity.