Malevil

Christian de Chalonge directed Malevil, a 1981 post-apocalyptic science fiction film co-produced by France and West Germany. Loosely adapted from Robert Merle's 1972 novel of the same name, it deals with the struggle to survive after a nuclear war and is also known in Germany as Countdown der Neutronenbombe. Pierre Dumayet wrote the screenplay, Les Films Gibé produced it, and it runs about 120 minutes.

The story begins when a group of people gathered in the cellar of the rural Malevil castle realize that a nuclear catastrophe has destroyed the world outside. The survivors try to form a new community around the castle, to work the land again and to deal with the dangers that come their way. The cast includes Michel Serrault, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Jacques Dutronc, Jacques Villeret, Robert Dhéry, Michel Berto and Hanns Zischler.

Chalonge had worked mainly in documentaries, social and wildlife ones in particular, and Malevil marked a turning point in his career. Following his earlier L'Argent des autres, the film also let Michel Serrault and Robert Dhéry, long typecast in comic roles, prove themselves in dramatic parts. The staging is sober and avoids the usual genre special effects. Critics received it well, and it drew over 1.4 million admissions in France.