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French filmmaker Raúl Ruiz directs the philosophical film noir spoof A Place Among the Living, inspired by gangster films and detective stories from the '50s. Frequent Ruiz leading man Christian Vadim plays Ernest Ripper, a Paris writer who makes a living translating cheap dime-store novels. He is approached by shady criminal Joseph Arcimboldo (Thierry Gibault), who suggests that Ernest write his biography. He claims to be implicated in several unresolved murder cases of young blonde models. Seizing the opportunity for something marketable, Ernest agrees to write the book. Valérie Kaprisky plays the tough cookie publisher Maryse and Cecile Bois plays Ernest's model girlfriend Sandrine. A Place Among the Living was shown at the 2003 Venice Film Festival as part of the Upstream competition.