I... for Icarus (1979) — AI Story Visualization

Plot Analysis Summary

Henri Volney challenges an official assassination narrative and follows evidence toward a concealed network of obedience, violence, and secret-service intervention.

Story Structure — 5 Plot Phases

A Report Under Suspicion

The president is assassinated and an official commission attributes the killing to Daslow. Henri Volney rejects the accepted conclusion and reopens the investigation.

Key Events

• Presidential Assassination — The president is assassinated during a public celebration of his reelection. Location: Public reelection celebration
• Official Commission Report — A year-long commission investigation concludes that Daslow killed the president with a rifle. Location: Commission offices
• Volney Rejects Conclusion — Volney becomes suspicious of the accepted account and continues examining the evidence. Characters: Henri Volney Location: Government offices

Witnesses in the Film

Volney studies footage of the shooting and notices people reacting toward an unexpected direction. The search for these witnesses becomes dangerous when several are reported dead.

Key Events

• Shooting Film Reviewed — Volney studies footage showing people turning toward an unexpected direction after the first shot. Characters: Henri Volney Location: Investigation room
• Witnesses Become Targets — Volney and his investigators try to identify the people in the film and learn that witnesses are being killed. Characters: Henri Volney Location: Investigation offices
• Bellony Contacts Volney — Frank Bellony contacts Volney after recognizing a face shown on television. Characters: Henri Volney Location: Telephone contact
• Warning About Dead Witnesses — Volney warns Bellony that the other witnesses have died and urges him to cooperate. Characters: Henri Volney Location: Telephone contact
• Bellony Seeks Safety — Bellony attempts to reach safety, but the effort immediately places him in danger. Characters: Henri Volney Location: City streets

The Obedience Mechanism

An experiment involving Despaul and Rivoli illustrates obedience to authority through apparent electric shocks. The discovery that Daslow monitored a similar experiment makes the official story more troubling.

Key Events

• Obedience Experiment Begins — Despaul follows instructions and administers increasingly painful apparent shocks to Rivoli. Characters: Despaul, Rivoli Location: Psychological experiment room
• Authority Drives Obedience — The experiment demonstrates how authority can make an ordinary person continue an apparently harmful action. Characters: Despaul, Rivoli Location: Psychological experiment room
• Daslow Connection Discovered — Volney's team learns that Daslow served as a monitor in a similar obedience experiment. Characters: Henri Volney Location: Investigation offices
• Official Story Questioned — The evidence raises doubts that the official assassination explanation is complete. Characters: Henri Volney Location: Investigation offices

The Secret-Service Link

Volney follows evidence toward Richard Mallory and Carlos de Palma. De Palma's early release on Mallory's orders suggests a hidden service whose nature remains unexplained.

Key Events

• Mallory Emerges — Further inquiries lead Volney toward senior secret-services official Richard Mallory. Characters: Henri Volney, Richard Mallory Location: Investigation offices
• De Palma Release Traced — Volney links de Palma's early release to Mallory's orders and unspecified services to the nation. Characters: Henri Volney, Carlos de Palma, Richard Mallory Location: Investigation offices
• Apartment Search Planned — Volney and Garcia Santos prepare to search Mallory's apartment while he is believed absent. Characters: Henri Volney, Garcia Santos Location: Investigation offices
• Mallory Apartment Search — Volney's team searches Mallory's apartment for evidence connected to the investigation. Characters: Henri Volney, Garcia Santos Location: Richard Mallory's apartment

Mallory Receives the Attorney

Volney and Garcia Santos search Mallory's apartment, but Mallory unexpectedly returns. He admits intervening for the secret services while leaving the meaning of de Palma's services unresolved.

Key Events

• Mallory Apartment Search — Volney's team searches Mallory's apartment for evidence connected to the investigation. Characters: Henri Volney, Garcia Santos Location: Richard Mallory's apartment
• Mallory Unexpectedly Returns — Mallory unexpectedly arrives and calmly receives Volney during the search. Characters: Henri Volney, Garcia Santos, Richard Mallory Location: Richard Mallory's apartment
• Volney Confronts Mallory — Volney confronts Mallory about his connection to de Palma and the prison release. Characters: Henri Volney, Richard Mallory Location: Richard Mallory's apartment
• Mallory Admits Intervention — Mallory acknowledges that he sometimes intervenes on behalf of the secret services. Characters: Henri Volney, Richard Mallory Location: Richard Mallory's apartment
• Unresolved Confrontation — The available account ends before Mallory explains the nature of de Palma's services. Characters: Henri Volney, Richard Mallory Location: Richard Mallory's apartment

Story Breakdown

• Public Assassination — The president is killed during a public reelection celebration, creating the case that drives the narrative.
  • Celebration Shooting — The assassination occurs during a public celebration.
  • Official Attribution — The commission attributes the killing to Daslow with a rifle.
• Volney Reopens Case — Volney refuses to accept the commission's account and searches for discrepancies in the evidence.
  • Rejected Report — Volney becomes suspicious of the accepted explanation.
  • Film Evidence — The shooting film reveals unusual reactions in the crowd.
• Witnesses Under Threat — The attempt to identify people in the film exposes a campaign of lethal witness suppression.
  • Bellony's Contact — Bellony contacts Volney after recognizing a televised face.
  • Dangerous Escape — Bellony's attempt to reach safety puts him in immediate danger.
• Obedience Experiment — The experiment involving Despaul and Rivoli gives the investigation a psychological model for obedience to authority.
  • Apparent Shocks — Despaul administers increasingly painful apparent shocks to Rivoli.
  • Daslow's Connection — The team learns that Daslow monitored a similar experiment.
• Secret-Service Network — Volney follows the case toward Mallory's authority and de Palma's unexplained service to the nation.
  • De Palma Released — Mallory orders Carlos de Palma's early release from prison.
  • Unanswered Service — The nature of de Palma's service remains undisclosed.
• Apartment Confrontation — A search of Mallory's apartment turns into a calm but unresolved confrontation.
  • Unexpected Return — Mallory arrives while Volney's team is searching his apartment.
  • Unresolved Admission — Mallory admits intervening for the secret services but does not explain de Palma's role.

Directed by

Henri Verneuil

Key Cast

• Yves Montand — Henri Volney
• Michel Etcheverry — Frédéric Heiniger
• Roger Planchon — David Naggara
• Jacques Denis — Despaul
• Pierre Vernier — Charly Feruda