Chabrol's first two films, Le Beau Serge and Les Cousins, were ironic renditions of the City Mouse and the Country Mouse; whereas in Les Cousins, the country cousin visits the city and all its decadence is seen in a new, alien light, Le Beau Serge tells of a young Parisian whose return to his native village distills for him an essential poverty in rural relationships. Francois (Jean-Claude Brialy) returns home to discover that his friend and idol, the talented future architect Serge (Gérard Blain), has become a drunkard, wallowing in despair and guilt following the stillbirth of a child. Francois's intervention in Serge's life is naive. Surprisingly little known for a film that is credited with being the first film of the French New Wave, Le Beau Serge is rich in details of life, served up à la Chabrol, a director for whom "mise-en-scène almost always takes precedence over psychology" (James Monaco, The New Wave). Point-of-view is the key to the distance, suspense, and compassion that his films combine.