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Head Against the Wall

Play trailer Head Against the Wall 1959,  1h 30m,  Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist 100% 6 Reviews Tomatometer 69% 100+ Ratings Popcornmeter
100% Tomatometer 6 Reviews 69% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
A family deals with a son's commitment for mental health treatment.

Critics Reviews

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Budd Wilkins Slant Magazine Jun 22, 2026
Georges Franju’s feature-length directorial debut, La Tête Contre Les Murs, is a study in social alienation and institutional indifference that shares a resemblance with the filmmaker’s pioneering 1949 short "Blood of the Beasts." Go to Full Review
Anton Bitel Little White Lies Oct 12, 2009
commenting on the difficult dynamic between freedom and control within any system... it is an important missing link between the cinma du papa and the emerging nouvelle vague Go to Full Review
Penelope Gilliatt Observer (UK) Mar 6, 2024
The scenario is imperfect, but the director's eye is poetic and angry. Go to Full Review
Jean-Luc Godard Arts (France) Sep 16, 2021
[Franju] seeks the madness behind reality because it is for him the only way to rediscover the true face of reality behind this madness. Go to Full Review
Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Jan 4, 2013
B
Harrowing look at a psychiatric hospital and how it fails those who are treatable. Go to Full Review
Fernando F. Croce CinePassion Aug 15, 2011
An expos out of Kafka and Foucault Go to Full Review
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Head Against the Wall

My Rating

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Cast & Crew

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Georges Franju

Director

Jean-Pierre Mocky

François Gérane

Anouk Aimée

Stéphanie

Charles Aznavour

Heurtevent

Paul Meurisse

Dr. Emery

Pierre Brasseur

Dr. Varmont

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Head Against the Wall

Head Against the Wall (1959) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis A family deals with a son's commitment for mental health treatment.
Director
Georges Franju
Production Co
La Société des Films Sirius
Genre
Drama
Original Language
French (France)
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 20, 1959, Original
Runtime
1h 30m
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