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Film: Dobermann
Year of production: 1997
UK Release date: 25th April 2011
Distributor: Second Sight
Certificate: 18
Running time: 99 mins
Director: Jan Kounen
Starring: Vincent Cassel, Tchéky Karyo, Monica Bellucci, Antoine Basler, Dominique Bettenfeld
Genre: Action/Crime/Drama/Thriller
Format: DVD
Country of Production: France
Language: French/English/Spanish
Released back in the late 1990s, Dobermann was an antidote to the bland offerings of the time and a French response to English speaking taboo breakers like Reservoir Dogs and Natural Born Killers. But in this more permissive time, with the advent of a new breed of horror pushing the boundaries of screen violence, and Asian masters of cinema such as Miike showing us just what it’s like to be on the edge of permissiveness, does Dobermann still hold the same power?
During the christening of Yann Le Pentrec, a Doberman scratches on the church door. One of his uncles has brought the baby a gun as a present. When the Doberman enters the church, and the gun goes flying into baby Yann’s pram after a collision, the family discover that he takes to the weapon like it was a new toy. And so Dobermann is born.
Years later, we meet the adult Dobermann and his girl, Nat, robbing an armoured car before going on to meet with the rest of his gang of lunatics and misfits for the heist of the century.
In broad daylight, the gang rob a succession of banks, throwing Paris into chaos. The police are in turmoil, unable to control the situation. Unfortunately, Dobermann’s plan has put him squarely on the radar of psychotic detective Christini, who will stop at nothing to get him.
As Christini closes in on Dobermann and his crew of reprehensible criminals, they find themselves trapped and prepare for a confrontation of epic proportions…
Dobermann is not an easy film to sit through. Apart from the violence, and there is more than enough to make the hardened viewer squirm, the soundtrack pumps with little consideration for the eardrums, and the pace and editing make for a literally breathtaking experience. It is not always pretty; in fact the majority of the film is an ugly mess of violence, loathsome characters and techno. That said, it’s hard not to like the film as a whole, if only for the way the filmmakers have chosen to batter the viewer repeatedly in nearly every scene and make no apologies for doing so. It’s a mesmeric experience, and one you’re not likely to forget, for better or worse.
The robberies that form the crux of the film are nothing especially inventive or daring. There is little spectacle to them when viewed alongside countless other heist movies, but the little touches, such as placing a grenade in the helmet of a pursuing police motorcyclist, make the whole affair seem so outlandish that you can forget the shortcomings. This is not Heat after all.
The characters on offer start at despicable and descend the scale to scum of the earth. There is not one redeeming feature to any of them. Dobermann himself is a violent and nasty criminal who delights in shooting and blowing things up, as well as humiliating the odd victim of his robberies. He isn’t a character that as a viewer we have any real sympathies with. But that’s ok, because as a villain (oh yes, Dobermann is not the villain of this piece) we are given the despicable Detective Christini, a man so utterly foul that he makes Dobermann look like a lovable rogue. After all, any policeman who thinks nothing of throwing a baby across a room or giving it a grenade to play with during an interrogation is going to make anyone sympathise with the criminal he’s chasing.
This is the main problem with the film. For all the flashy photography and breakneck pace, the characters are so impossible to relate to that we are never allowed to view the film as anything other than an excuse for violence. This leaves the whole film feeling like a bit of throwaway fun rather than a subversive experiment in what’s permissible. Unlike, say, Ichi the Killer, which had at its core a statement on the way we view screen violence, Dobermann seems content to throw brutal acts at us and never allows us to get over one before hurling another, without commenting on any of them. This could be Dobermann’s undoing, but the film has enough genuine adrenalin-fuelled fun in its arsenal that anyone looking for 100 minutes of action will not be disappointed.
Cassel is good as the titular lead, but his onscreen charisma has been better displayed in other, superior films. Monica Bellucci isn’t given much to do except look ridiculously gorgeous and shoot things, which she does effortlessly and with considerable style, stealing most scenes she appears in through sheer presence. Tcheky Karyo is creepy and disgusting as Christini and makes for a very believable monster. The rest of the performances are a great deal of fun, but no one stands out as being anything other than walking comic characters (this might even be a compliment as the film is based on a series of comics).
Director Kounen has loaded the frame with enough crazy images to make the eyes bleed. Some are visceral, some are sexual, some are beautiful, but all are loud and searing. The quiet hideout for the gang is contrasted to good effect with the chaotic Paris streets, which are rife with fodder for the array of weaponry on offer. The first shot of adult Dobermann centres on the barrel of his oversized gun and from there his and everyone else’s weapons are almost fetishised throughout. The climactic confrontation between the gang and the police takes place in a club that could easily be Hell. The music is deafening, the imagery gaudy, and the violence extreme. It’s a potent mix that will work for some, but will definitely not be to everyone’s taste.
While it would be easy to dismiss Dobermann as a gratuitous orgy of violence, it is hard not to fall for its charms, such as they are. It is a film that will definitely not appeal to everyone, but one which has retained the shock value that set it apart from an array of Tarantino-style rip-offs, despite some heavy competition over the years. You’ll know whether it’s to your taste before it’s even begun: if the sight of an animated dog urinating on the opening credits doesn’t do it for you then it’s probably best to avoid it. For the rest of us, it’s insane, violent, over-the-top, crass - and a lot of fun. RM
Film: Adrift
Release date: 7th February 2011
Certificate: 15
Running time: 97 mins
Director: Heitor Dhalia
Starring: Camilla Belle, Vincent Cassel, Caua Reymond, Debora Bloch, Laura Neiva
Genre: Drama
Studio: Revolver
Format: DVD
Country: Brazil
Brazilian director Heitor Dhalia’s third full-length film, Adrift, was shown in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, immediately rendering it worthy of international credit. Set against a summer backdrop of incessant sunshine in Dhalia’s homeland of Brazil, this is a poignant coming-of-age story about 14-year-old Filipa, taking us through her journey of self-discovery amidst her parents’ clandestine acts of infidelity.
Filipa and her teenage friends are on the threshold of sexual discovery, experiencing first kisses and tiptoeing across ideas of romance and relationships. Her father Mathias is in the process of writing a book, and so the family take a vacation at their beach house in Buzios to allow him time to work on his latest creation. His wife, Clarice, cultivates an underlying alcohol problem whilst dismissing the artistic purpose of her husband’s work, and so, when a producer offers to buy the TV rights to his latest book, their differences in mentality begin to emerge. From Mathias’ creative dedication to Clarice’s logical bill-paying manner, it is clear that there is tension mounting within their marriage.
Filipa’s growing suspicions regarding the stability of her parents’ relationship are exacerbated when she discovers photos of an attractive woman in her father’s office drawer. And thus ignites Filipa’s determination to reveal the truth, resulting in her catching glimpses of her father and his American lover Angela as they pursue a hidden affair. The youngsters in Adrift discover a grown-up world of jealousy and betrayal, supplemented by a local shooting his wife for infidelity. The presence of a gun sparks fear in Filipa’s mind regarding her own troubled parents, thus introducing her to the darker aspects of adulthood.
The family’s routine breakfast gathering becomes increasingly more uncomfortable. Filipa spends the time glowering at her father, and her parents’ attempts at maintaining a normal atmosphere begin to deteriorate until eventually Mathias is absent at the table. Cracks become deeper as relationships are formed and broken, and we watch through Filipa’s eyes as her speculative questions are finally answered with unconcealed honesty…
Adrift opens with the camera tracing its gaze along the bodies of father and daughter as they float in tranquil blue sea. There is instantly a powerful sense of love between the two, which is made all the more striking by the accompanying piano soundtrack of Antonio Pinto.
Dhalia uses small finishing touches to portray the film’s 1980s setting, such as Mathias’ typewriter, his large studious spectacles, and The Ronettes’ ‘Be My Baby’ being played at a party. The film is shot under a constant golden glow of sunshine, making Brazilian skin and the summer backdrop combine in an almost surreal perfection. Dhalia’s cinematography is often visually profound, enhanced by the photography of Ricardo Della Rosa; beautifully delicate scenery and body language become essential dialogues to the plot.
Plenty of directors have attempted the tale of a teenager ascending to the role of adult, but Dhalia does it with such integrity and dexterity that it is impossible for the film to collapse into a cliché. The narrative unravels carefully; each character’s vulnerability gives them a third dimension which turns them from fiction into friend. The film develops enigmatically, placing the viewer with Filipa as we catch glimpses of unrevealed plot, and come to the same conclusions that she does - only to have things slightly pushed off balance as the entire story is unveiled, making a credible and satisfying ending which would undoubtedly have been sugar-coated if it were made in Hollywood.
Filipa’s strength of character results in her often answering back to her parents, storming off mid-conversation if something displeases her, and abusing the male attention which she receives. Her relentless youthful obstinacy is performed with a superb authenticity by Laura Neiva in her only acting role to date. While her attitude eventually brushes on being irritating, Neiva’s glaring eyes maintain the communication of her confused distress. Her female presence develops through the film, beginning with the endearing naivety of a child and blooming into the beginnings of a flirtatious young lady.
The chemistry between characters is electric, with unspoken desires depicted wonderfully between the enthusiastic adolescents, and also between Vincent Cassel as Mathias and Camilla Belle as Angela. Cassel effortlessly exudes charisma as loving father, passionate writer and adulterer, displaying his endless talents as he speaks in fluent Portuguese despite being natively French.
Adrift is not your average dysfunctional family drama. It flirts with desire without becoming notorious; it sails through a series of problems without going overboard. Dhalia directs convincing characters, and his work is embellished by the emotional luminosity of his cast. On the surface it seems as though nothing great has been achieved due to the film’s slow pace and scattered sub-plots, but Dhalia has discreetly depicted a substantial life transition in a very short space of time. NM
Film: Read My Lips
Release date: 6th September 2010
Certificate: 15
Running time: 115 mins
Director: Jacques Audiard
Starring: Vincent Cassel, Emmanuelle Devos, Olivier Gourmet, Olivier Perrier, Olivia Bonamy
Genre: Crime/Drama/Romance/Thriller
Studio: Optimum
Format: DVD
Country: France
Audiard has made waves with his twist on the crime genre. If A Prophet was the film that made his name, then Read My Lips is the film that first got him recognised. After A Self Made Hero and See How They Fall in the mid-90s, this 2001 release went on to cause a huge buzz in France. With Cesar nominations and awards galore, Audiard creates a probing look at the not so pretty side of Paris that has gone on to become his trademark.
Carla is a thirty-something office worker in central Paris. She is single and deaf with only a hearing aid to give her partial hearing. When she faints at work, Carla is offered an office assistant to help with her workload in the building industry. The agency sends her an attractive young man named Paul for the position - an ex-convict desperate to make an honest living whilst he is on parole.
Paul starts work, shakily struggling to get to grips with the office environment that is so foreign to him. When Carla finds him spending the night in one of the store rooms, she offers him a place to stay, giving him the keys to a flat in one of the company’s unfinished buildings. In response to Carla’s charity, Paul makes a sexual advance on her, but she turns him down much to his frustration.
Carla’s timid nature is not only affecting her personal relationships but is getting her no respect in her job - she has the ability to lip read and constantly picks up on her cruel colleague’s snipes and jeers about her. When she is overlooked for a lucrative opportunity at work, she asks Paul to help her get an upper hand on her disrespectful superiors, and he reluctantly steals files that help her seal a big deal with one of the company’s partners.
When Paul is called up by club owner Marchand, he is forced to leave the office to repay his debt, and Marchand makes him a bar-man at his club. When Paul dreams up a plan to scam Marchand, he calls Carla back into his life. He has thought up a plan to use Carla’s lip reading, and it’s time she repays him for his help...
Audiard is a director whose heart lies in his roots. Parisian born, Audiard is dedicated to telling stories in the backdrop of his home city. The French capitol is famed for its beauty and iconic scenery, but in Audiard’s Paris there is rarely a postcard picture in site - he surrounds his films with run-down buildings, dank city streets and ominous night life. This bleak version of the city is not an entirely new concept when considering the realism of classics like Irreversible and La Haine but Audiard installs an atmosphere entirely of his own.
He does this by portraying the mundane struggle of the inner-city as well it’s very exciting dangers. In The Beat That My Heart Skipped we saw the daily bump and grind of a real estate broker, in A Prophet the solitude of prison, and here the utterly dull routine of office work. Audiard’s world is an uncomfortable place to be, as it displays an air of discontent and turmoil in surroundings that are bleak with a capital B.
This discontent is felt most strongly here by Carla. She is an oddball whose behaviour is more empathetic than it is endearing - scenes of her stood naked in the mirror show her longing with agonising pain. She is an outcast as much for her timid nature as she is for her deafness - subsequently she is unappreciated by friends, disrespected by co-workers but also intriguing to Paul. With themes of crime and the complexity of the heist the two dream up, it is their relationship that is the film’s main drive and most appealing arc.
Their relationship is something all together uncomfortable and fascinating to watch. It evolves with a tension that is both sexual and emotional - Audiard puts his main focus on the complexity of his characters. The two leads are a most unlikely pairing, but what they lack in common ground they make up for with a shared vulnerability and lack of social place.
This leads to them having the most bizarre of cinematic understandings. They show a fair amount of contempt for each other also - their relationship is heated stemming from an early advance from Paul which is aggressive and entirely miscalculated. However, throughout the course of the film, we see how their extreme differences compensate for each other’s shortcomings. We see Paul defend Carla against an attacker in the same way we see Carla lying for Paul to his parole officer. They are two characters that alone are hopeless but together are something extremely special.
The romance is central to the film but the crime-drama motif that features is also done with the upmost conviction. Paul’s scam is simple but engrossingly risky. Working in a bar for Marchand, he is sent to deliver bottles of champagne to his boss and two of his shady associates in a flat opposite the club. He steals a copy of the key and tells Carla to watch and lip read the gang’s moves so they can steal the expectedly large riches they bring back to the flat. As Carla sits on a rooftop clad with a sleeping bag and binoculars, you can’t help but think of Rear Window - it is the tension and discomfort of watching them carry out their plan that truly matches the suspense of a Hitchcock film.
Emmanuelle Devos won the Cesar award for her performance, and it is a treat to see a strong female role stand out in Audiard’s work. He has made a habit of revolving his films around strong male leads, such as Roman Duris and, more recently, Tahar Rahim, but despite a great turn by the consistently watchable Cassel, it is Devos who really stands out here. Supported by a fantastic script, she plays the part as a timid loner for whom we feel every blow and put down, but simultaneously feel every piece of progress she makes.
For fans of A Prophet, this is a film you should strive to see. Audiard starts here his attack on the crime drama with a piece that is daringly erotic, entirely compelling and, despite its grim facade, beautiful. LW
Film: The Crimson Rivers
Release date: 26th November 2001
Certificate: 15
Running time: 101 mins
Director: Mathieu Kassovitz
Starring: Jean Reno, Vincent Cassel, Nadia Farès, Dominique Sanda, Karim Belkhadra
Genre: Crime/Mystery/Thriller
Studio: Sony
Format: DVD
Country: France
The Crimson Rivers (Les Rivières Pourpres), based on the best selling French novel of the same name by Jean-Christophe Grangé (who also co-wrote the screenplay) is an unabashed attempt to make a French Hollywood-style thriller.
A mutilated body, tied in the foetal position and missing both its eyes and hands, turns up high in the French Alps. Super detective Pierre Niemans (Reno) is called in to investigate, enlisting local glaciologist Fanny Ferreira (Farès) to help him understand the extreme conditions in which the body was found.
Meanwhile in the town of Sarzac, Detective Inspector Max Kerkerian (Cassel) investigates his own mystery, the desecration of a young girl’s tomb and apparent theft of her body. Kerkerian pursues the case, desperate to find any information he can about the girl, but somebody seems to be erasing her from history, and nobody is giving any answers.
The two cases soon become intertwined, and the reluctant duo team up to begin an unsettling tour of the local university, where everyone seems just a little too perfect, and the nearby town, where everyone seems the complete opposite. Something’s very wrong in this quiet mountain town, kept afloat by the all powerful university, but what Niemans and Kerkerian discover will horrify even these two hardened detectives…
The Crimson Rivers starts so well, an intriguing and atmospheric police story that unsettles initially with the gruesomely mutilated bodies, then, once the conspiracy begins, draws you in with a compelling plot.
Where The Crimson Rivers really excels is in its aesthetic department. As with La Haine, director Mathieu Kassovitz creates a striking visual aesthetic - a stunning pallet on which to play out his macabre tale, with blood red playing out against an overwhelmingly snow white landscape. The model effects of the mutilated corpses are unnervingly realistic, with the production team producing the grimmest representation they could - particularly during the opening credits, where the camera investigates and probes every minute detail of the first corpse.
The score is haunting and sits with the big budget aesthetics perfectly, recalling John Carpenter’s classic Halloween, so instantly recognisable as a chilling accompaniment to the horrific events being investigated.
Reno is perfectly cast as the constantly exhausted Commissaire Niemans. It seems Reno has become typecast as a cop, even within his native France, so he’s not really stretching himself. Vincent Cassel, at this time poised on the cusp of international superstardom, deliverers a frantic performance that runs in parallel to Reno’s slow and methodical Niemans. The pair truly gel together onscreen and are a joy to watch playing off each other’s opposite personalities. Jean Reno and Vincent Cassel carry the movie with their performances, but the plot unfortunately does descend into the realm of lunacy.
Thematically drawing heavily on the works of Fincher, De Palma and Hitchcock, The Crimson Rivers makes no apologies for its Hollywood influences, instead it revels in the style, but this sees the early promise descend into a run-of-the-mill Hollywood action movie. Cassel, for his part, is involved in perhaps the most bizarrely out of place scene in the film, a kung-fu battle between himself and a gang of skinheads. This scene, with its use of video game aesthetics, feels so superfluous to the film.
Another problem is that for all the interesting ideas and larger conspiracies alluded to, the film doesn’t deliver with its grand finale - a cop-out that leaves the viewer feeling short changed.
The Crimson Rivers is highly watchable as a popcorn police thriller. It’s just such a pity that the film is let down by its final third after producing an initially compelling plot line. CSA
Film: La Haine
Release date: 27th September 2004
Certificate: 15
Running time: 98 mins
Director: Mathieu Kassovitz
Starring: Vincent Cassel, Hubert Kounde, Said Taghmaoui
Genre: Crime/Drama
Studio: Optimum
Format: DVD
Country: France
From its very conception to its ultimate visualization, La Haine sparked a moral panic that spread across the whole of France. Courting controversy at every juncture, and building up enough political hype prior to its release that a compulsory screening was ordered by the French Prime Minister and his cabinet, La Haine was destined to be a film of great importance.
Based on real events, La Haine focuses on the aftermath of rioting following the death of a young immigrant Parisian in police custody. Choosing not to sensationalize events the story opens as the dust settles, as the flames die out and as people begin to survey the devastation of the previous night and their uncertain future.
The film turns its attentions to the lives of three friends, Vinz, Said and Hubert. All with differing views on the previous nights events, and all with contrasting solutions to the problems they face. They lead us through the building tensions of the film, through the long periods of nothingness, as each side waits for the other to make its move, and through the ordeals they face when the eventual stalemate is broken, which culminates in a heart stopping conclusion that leaves the viewer with a disturbing feeling of injustice, and a burning desire for rebellion and retribution…
Despite its gritty undertones and its overtly political stance, La Haine is a beautifully delicate and poetic film. The rise from stillness to boiling point is emphasized by the starkness of the framing, and the edgy, black-and-white cinematography adds realness to events as they escalate. La Haine is repeatedly interspersed with iconic and almost metaphorical imagery that echo the feel of the film and add a sentimental backdrop to the troubles drawn deeper into the canvas before it.
With some stylish cinematic touches, paying an unspoken homage to several Hollywood directors, the film seals its position as an important counter-culture classic by making itself undeniably fascinating to watch. The contrasting rhythm of pace and stillness definitely adds to the drama as it unfolds.
The underlying use of "Verlan," a punchy, syncopated French street slang, gives an authenticity to its characters, who, despite all being relative newcomers, deliver some of the most fleshed out, realistic portrayals of conflicting youth attitude and ambition. All of them tethered to a touchstone of hopeful, child-like naïveté, while outwardly presenting an arrogant sense of bravado. Vinz (Vincent Cassel) especially offers a disturbing view of a universal teenage mentality when his only response to his police aggressors is violent retaliation. Yet, in contrast, he also displays a deft comic touch with the most realistic impression of a French Robert De Niro you are ever likely to see.
La Haine is a unique film if only for the fact it does not apologize for what it is. It wants you to sit up and take notice, and if it has to shock you into a better realization then it is an effective means to that end.
Without revolution there would be no progress in society, and although outwardly this film has a negative approach it is consistently, underpinned with a feeling of hope and of positive change. The opening dialogue of the film tells the story of a man falling to the ground from a great height. As he falls he says to himself: "So far, so good." This is the underlying basis of the film. It is not a question of how you fall; it is a question of how you land. An eternally optimistic viewpoint, that despite the struggle things can only improve.
There is intelligence to the direction. It forces you to side with its main characters and ultimately agree with their philosophies. You find yourselves supporting the plight of Vinz, Said and Hubert, and join them in their distrust and dislike of the police. Despite Director Mathieu Kassovitz never actually showing any of the riot or evidence that the police were involved in the death of the boy in custody, you find your allegiance lies with the three boys. This is a novel approach in filmmaking, and epitomizes the daring attitude of this movie, and sets it above its contemporaries in style and courage.
Controversial in its content, aggressive in its approach and resilient in its attitude, La Haine breaks the boundaries of political correctness, taking the issues that matter from the streets and presenting them in a way that forces the politicians to take notice, and hopefully affect change by revelation not revolution. There are few films in this class that succeed in compiling a politically motivated, anti police, anarchistic standpoint into an enthralling, stylish piece of poetic imagery.
La Haine is certainly one of the great films of the late 20th century, and ultimately destined to become a cult classic with anyone with an appreciation of powerful, thought provoking and creative filmmaking.
Breathtaking cinema at its very best. Destined to be remembered for its rousing indictment of the French class system and for pushing the boundaries of political opinion, La Haine scores on every level of entertainment and importance. NG
Film: La Haine
Release date: 27th September 2004
Certificate: 15
Running time: 98 mins
Director: Mathieu Kassovitz
Starring: Vincent Cassel, Hubert Kounde, Said Taghmaoui
Genre: Crime/Drama
Studio: Optimum
Format: DVD
Country: France
A dark exploration of the harsh realities of life in suburban Paris shot in stark black-and-white.
The story follows Vinz, Saïd and Hubert in the 24 hours following riots in the Paris suburb where they live, during which their friend Abdel was beaten by police and is now barely alive in intensive care.
The main plotline of the film sees Vinz finding a policeman’s gun lost in the riots and vowing that if Abdel dies he will use it to kill a cop. From the outset, it seems inevitable that Abdel will die which, coupled with Vinz’s growing fantasies, creates an awkward tension with the viewer as if waiting for a bomb to explode.
As the film progresses, the desperation of the characters’ situation becomes more and more apparent. For people on the estates, there are no prospects and no hope. The trio go from area to area either becoming bored or moved on by the police as the struggle against society is emphasised…
The characters of Vinz and Hubert seem to have been modelled purposefully to be polar opposites. There is the sensible down to earth Hubert, who, throughout the film, attempts tirelessly to talk sense into Vinz, who in turn becomes more of an extreme - yearning for blood as he idolises Travis Bickle’s character from Taxi Driver.
Firmly in between these two characters sits Saïd, who acts as a counterpoint joking around and telling stories in an attempt to connect the emotionally charged Vinz and Hubert. The interaction between the characters works really well and the film is superbely acted throughout, with good performances from the supporting cast also, especially within the police force.
The major issue presented in the film is that of police brutality and race within the housing projects the characters live. The fact that the suburbs are such a melting pot of ethnicity shows how poverty and hopelessness really extends beyond such barriers. This is shown perfectly through the coupling of the characters: a Jew, a black and an Arab. All of whom are equal as they are united within the same social boundaries.
Throughout the film, there are hints at the world beyond the suburbs; in a shot where the characters are looking at the Eiffel Tower it seems miles away from the world they inhabit - a romanticised tourist face of Paris, faraway and unattainable to them.
The characters are taunted by the perverse irony of a billboard stating: “The World Is Yours”. Like so many others in their situation, they have no future, no ambition and no real life. They even deface the billboard in an act of futile vandalism, changing it to “The World Is Ours”.
There are some beautiful standout shots used within the film, namely a tracking shot moving through the rooftops of the suburbs, which could only have been filmed with a helicopter. The use of handheld generates a feeling of disorientation and helps to put the viewer right in amongst the action, giving the film a gritty and realistic feel to it.
The fact that it is shot in black-and-white (a decision taken by Kassovitz in post-production) really does enhance the general bleakness of the film, and gives a certain uniqueness that separates it from anything of that time. In the opening scene, real black-and-white footage of riots is used, which, through the cinematography of the film itself, bleeds into the narrative, giving the film historical positioning and, more importantly, purpose.
A fantastically shot and wonderfully acted film flowing with emotion that grips you until the very end. AH
Film: La Haine
Release date: 27th September 2004
Certificate: 15
Running time: 98 mins
Director: Mathieu Kassovitz
Starring: Vincent Cassel, Hubert Kounde, Said Taghmaoui
Genre: Crime/Drama
Studio: Optimum
Format: DVD
Country: France
Drawing from his own experiences, and taking inspiration from the true life story of 17-year-old Zairian Makome M'Bowole, who in 1993 was handcuffed to a radiator and accidently shot by a police officer during a dispute in police custody, director Mathieu Kassovitz paints an unflinching portrait of “Hate”.
La Haine (Hate) follows a day in the life of three young friends living and surviving in the deprived and overcrowded multi-ethnic housing projects otherwise known as the banlieues of Paris.
When Abdel, a prominent member of the neighbourhood, and friend of the three defiant youths, is assaulted by police and hospitalized during a riot, an enraged Vinz swears to kill a member of the police in order to even the score if Abdel dies.
In contrast to the hot-headed and brash Vinz is the aspiring boxer and drug dealer Hubert of African origin. Hubert tries to show Vinz throughout the various events of the day that his criminal deed will not settle their ongoing struggle or earn him the respect he so desperately seeks. Hubert’s only wish is to find a way of gaining enough money to leave behind the violence and poverty of his lack-lustre surroundings.
The last of the trio, naïve Sayid is, at times, the mediator, and provides many of the comical one liners to lift the mood, but ultimately decides to accompany Vinz on his quest for revenge…
Despite taking part in a number of riots himself, and given the source material, the director is careful not to convey all of the police officers in the film as aggressive, brutal and racist, or the young protagonists as innocent and righteous. Instead he subverts our expectations by varying good characteristics with those whom we suppose to be bad and vice versa. For instance, Vinz, Hubert and Sayid may be endearing but they are generally not the most likable characters in film history - they are misogynistic, brash, sexually vulgar and occasionally violent. The police also vary from being overtly racist to being genuinely concerned and empathetic.
La Haine, shot in black-and-white and on location of the Parisian suburbs, is not heavily stylized, which takes the film away from the aesthetically pleasing, nostalgic and romanticized idea of Paris seen in most French Heritage films. It is clear that an equal amount of time has gone into telling a story through mise èn scene, as well as through character development and natural dialogue.
Actual news footage from the riots occurring in France during the 1990s appears in the opening sequence of the film, which helps to enhance the element of realism. This technique also establishes the film’s social context, particularly the continuing breakdown of French society due to the ongoing problems existing between marginalized second generation migrants and right-wing activists concerned by the nation’s growing multi-ethnic identity.
La Haine isn’t just another film structured on the growing tensions between the police and multi-ethnic youth; it also addresses the characters’ ability to make the right choice in the face of adversity. Take for example Vinz, the most outwardly violent of the three friends is constantly being confronted by his own inner-conflict, as well as with those around him - until the end of the film, it is unknown whether or not Vinz will follow through with shooting a cop.
It is clear as the film draws to an end that the young protagonists are struggling to find an identity within a place which labels them as deviant and illegitimate.
La Haine is an altogether brutally breathtaking film. The music, scenery and narrative work effectively in representing the cultural diversity and growing tensions within the film, and a once hostile and violent French society. TA
Film: Brotherhood Of The Wolf
Release date: 19th February 2007
Certificate: 15
Running time: 137 mins
Director: Christophe Gans
Starring: Samuel Le Bihan, Mark Dacascos, Jeremie Renier, Vincent Cassel, Monica Bellucci
Genre: Action/Horror/Mystery
Studio: Optimum
Format: DVD
Country: France
Set in pre-revolutionary France, director Christophe Gans utilises the legendary tale of the Beast of Gévaudan to weave his multilayered and very loosely fact-based plot around.
Gregoire de Fronsac (Simon Le Bihan), artist, soldier and forward thinking man of science is dispatched to Gévaudan by his king in an attempt to accelerate the destruction of a murderous wolf-like beast that has been terrorizing his subjects. With the assistance of his Iroquois companion, Mani (Mark Dacascos), he swiftly concludes that rather than a demon set free from the depths of hell, due to the king’s favour of reason over religious teachings, he is in fact dealing with something manufactured, or at least influenced by man.
Shortly after arriving in the area, Fronsac meets the Morangias family and their circle of self-centred opinionated fair-weather friends. He immediately clashes mental swords with one armed adventurer, recently returned from Africa, Jean-François de Morangias (Vincent Cassel), while simultaneously falling for the charms of his younger sister Marianne (Emilie Dequenne).
As the first hour slowly progresses, going off at seemingly unrelated tangents, as Gans cleverly mimics Jaws by keeping the beast off camera, we are introduced via Fronsac’s investigation to more and more colourful characters. Femme fatale Sylvia (Monica Bellucci), clergyman Sardis and an epileptic mute girl, amongst others, become possible suspects, although, at this point, we are not quite sure what we are supposed to be suspecting them of.
The less is more approach of the first half, having served its purpose by building tension and offering clues, suddenly shifts up several gears as we cross over the hour mark to become an adrenaline fuelled fight fest that rarely slows down, yet still manages to pack emotional clout when it does pause briefly to come up for air…
Fronsac and Mani are joined by young idealistic nobleman Thomas d’Apcher as they set out on their journey to hunt the beast, a precursor to an almost Indiana Jones-style romp featuring numerous sprung traps and “close but no cigar” moments, with respect to the quarries capture. Following on from this, we have several exciting martial arts sequences, involving an array of brutal yet ingenious weaponry, before we take one final plot building breather - just before the exciting pay off scene. Gans, whether intentionally or not, may ape Steven Spielberg’s gift for tension building before rewarding the audience with exciting moments of peril, but it is when the action explodes across the screen that the directors veer off in different, yet equally effective, directions. Gans’ style is a hybrid of quirky European idiosyncrasies fused with Asian frenetic camera work, and speckled with well placed slow motion sequences thrown in for good measure.
The cinematography is simply stunning, from the mud-entrenched autumn slow-motion fight scene with individual droplets of rain mixed with blood, so vivid we can almost feel the spray, to the snowy winter search for lost children, and the lush forest wolf hunt where Gans utilises every vista to maximum effect.
Naturally, being a French film, we have the obligatory sex scene, but even then Gans shows his skill, allowing the camera to scan the length of Monica Bellucci’s naked body as she entertains her suitor, before seamlessly merging the curves of her thighs with the peaks and troughs of a scenic mountain region. While all the actors are well cast with Bellucci, her real life husband Cassel and Simon Le Bihan are particularly strong in their roles - and obviously relishing the opportunity to wear such elaborate costumes. However, it is the surprisingly good performance from Mark Dacascos that draws us in and demands our attention.
This is in a mainstream movie with artistic undertones. Placed in the skilful hands of Gans, it is in essence a piece of pure entertainment and something to enjoy time and time again. MG
Film: Mesrine
Release date: 25th January 2010
Certificate: 15
Running time: 237 mins
Director: Jean-François Richet
Starring: Vincent Cassel, Cécile De France, Gérard Depardieu, Gilles Lellouche, Roy Dupuis
Genre: Crime/Action/Thriller/Drama
Studio: Momentum
Format: DVD & Blu-ray
Country: France
The critical and commercial success of this film has brought the name of gangster Jacques Mesrine to much wider attention than simply that of his homeland, France – and, as the biopic illustrates; it’s a level of notoriety he would have basked in.
Mesrine was a thorn in the authorities’ sides for nearly two decades, committing countless robberies, murders and escapes – so many that a film depiction warranted two lengthy features – Mesrine: Killer Instinct and Mesrine: Public Enemy Number 1 . Each feature was released separately in cinemas, but both have been released together on DVD. Given the seamless continuation of the timeline over both movies, it’s the correct decision – far less two separate movies than a single movie having been split out of consideration for bottoms, but not our wallets.
In the first film, we follow Mesrine from his time serving in the French Army during the Algerian War, in the late-50s, to his return to France, where he was easily swayed to follow a life of crime (flash cars, beautiful women…), starting relatively small scale (robbing people’s homes) before becoming involved with big-time gangster Guido (suitable sleazy performance from the ever reliable Gérard Depardieu). This feature shows a younger, more suave and charming Mesrine, and the majority of his criminal activities are covered here – as well as the more exciting action set pieces (his prison escapes will have action junkies on the edge of their seats) – as he works his way quickly up the criminal ladder.
The second movie starts in similarly thrilling fashion – as our protagonist escapes from court – but the events at the back end of the first film have left him more jaded – he’s now overweight, unkempt, and his crimes less glamorous, including the kidnap of an old man for ransom money. He’s also consumed with paranoia and obsessed with his public image…
A film of this ilk stands or falls largely by the central performance, but Vincent Cassel nails it – never in doubt if you’ve seen his performance in Irréversible. From the cocky two-bit criminal with an eye for the ladies, to the world-weary, pot-bellied has-been, Vincent embodies every stage in Jacques life, and is totally believable as a man capable of cold blooded murder in one scene (violently stabbing a pimp to death), and charming a lady into his bed the next (and he manages a few).
For a running time of 237 minutes, over both films, however, there’s a surprising lack of depth. Minimal character development for the supporting cast, as we quickly hop from one event to another (sometimes bypassing years) without any indication, and with little understanding of what took Jacques there. Choosing not to delve too far into his psyche, or explain the choices he made, the film is somewhat shallow and showy (production values are second to none) – cramming in as many crimes as possible for an electrifying rollercoaster ride that is representative of Hollywood more than European cinema.
However, when it comes to action, they’ve stayed within the realms of realism – from large scale shootouts to car chases; you can believe this is exactly how events went down. It’s also this level of authenticity that makes Mesrine’s more odious acts completely convincing, and therefore more unsettling, including the murder of a reporter who dared to give him negative press.
Unlike Hollywood, also, the film doesn’t glorify or put Mesrine onto an iconic pedestal. He’s a bad husband (who’ll force a gun into his wife’s mouth), uncaring father, selfish, egotistical and downright nasty. Unlike many criminal biopics, where we are asked to empathise with the figure because of a life of poverty or ill treatment, we are shown that Mesrine comes from a comfortable home, a kind and good natured parentage, and is motivated purely by his craving for self-reward and celebrity – taking great pleasure when he earns Public Enemy #1 status.
He’s also far from infallible. Rather than giving the authorities the run around and getting to enjoy his ill-gotten gains, his plans are continuously botched (there’s a wonderful apt comical touch when the song Stand By Your Name comes on the radio after another plan is bungled); he gets caught on numerous occasions, and dealt fairly cruel punishment (the scenes where we see him brutally beaten and tortured by guards are particularly off-putting – Cassel afforded the opportunity to flex his acting muscles in the subsequent breakdown); and he is never presented as content in his chosen lifestyle – moving from seedy nightclubs to hiding out in the backwoods (there’s no glamour to his surroundings or associates). This is a man who led a life we can now pity rather than take any kind of voyeuristic pleasure from.
Even if the filmmakers were always a bit too eager to get to the exciting bits, the lack of sugar-coating and Vincent Cassel’s career-defining performance make this one of Europe’s best-ever crime flicks. DH
Film: Irreversible
Release date: 4th December 2006
Certificate: 18
Running time: 97 mins
Director: Gaspar Noé
Starring: Vincent Cassel, Monica Bellucci, Albert Dupontel
Genre: Drama/Crime
Studio: Tartan
Format: DVD
Country: France
Gaspar Noé’s Irreversible comes with a fearsome reputation. On its release in 2002, reports from the Cannes Film Festival told of innumerable walkouts, oxygen being administered in the foyer to distressed patrons, and a rape scene which left even the most hardened critic reaching for a stiff drink. Lorded by some as groundbreaking, dismissed by others as cheap, vile exploitation. Now, eight years on, it’s a chance to return to this most polarising of works and take a fresh look at Irreversible without the controversy and hysteria that dogged its release.
The story takes place over the course of one night in Paris. Middle class couple Marcus (Vincent Cassel) and Alex (Monica Bellucci) spend an evening at a party accompanied by their friend Pierre (Albert Dupontel), who is also Alex’s ex. Alex leaves the party early, and in a nearby underpass she is assaulted, brutally raped and beaten in a fixed camera shot which lasts a full nine minutes. Then follows a frenzied race through the streets of Paris as Marcus and Pierre attempt to find and exact revenge on Alex’s attacker.
The film is told in reverse order, beginning at the club to where Marcus and Pierre track down the assailant and working backwards through the events of the evening...
To start by addressing the elephant in the room: yes, the rape is every bit as horrific as you have heard. Harrowing, relentless, savage - and totally justified. This isn’t cinema rape. There are no cuts, no clever angles and no sympathetic score. The scene is stark, ugly and brutal; everything a real rape is. We’re left reeling, utterly nauseated at the scene and at ourselves for watching it. We feel violated, but, unlike poor Alex, we asked to be there. Noé’s techniques aren’t as accusatory as Michael Haneke’s for example (who famously forced us to confront our own appetites for violence in Funny Games) but they’re every bit as confrontational.
Noé’s camerawork is extraordinary. Here the camera is not merely a passive viewfinder but an active participant – inquisitive, accusatory, snaking through the Parisian underbelly apparently unfettered by the limits of physics. We travel through the city like a ghost, passing effortlessly through walls and car windows, capable of travelling impossible distances in seconds. It’s a tribute to Noé that these extraordinary visual techniques never feel like trickery, rather like he’s tapped into our subconscious and somehow we’re one with the lens. The journey into the bowels of the gay club at the start feel like a descent into hell, like a Hieronymus Bosch painting come to life and is a genuinely unsettling experience. After almost ten minutes of constantly spinning and flashing images of degradation and a lurching atonal soundtrack, one feels physically uneasy, your skin crawling and heart in your throat. When we later arrive at the assault in the underpass, the screen locks completely to a fixed shot; oppressive and unforgiving - as if Noé is punishing us for our roving eyes.
Monica Bellucci does an incredible job as Alex especially in what must have been an exceptionally difficult scene to film, but this is really Vincent Cassel’s film. We’re used to seeing him now in big budget global features, but this performance reminds us why he rose to the top of the European scene. His performance is feral and explosive. Stalking the streets like an animal, he looks like the very embodiment of rage. That the action is played out in reverse order means that we are made the confused, terrified onlooker in every scene, reeling from Marcus’s escalating fury as he descends further and further into the depths of delirious, vengeful savagery. The reverse order also forces us to play detective like Marcus, so while he’s chasing up leads to find out where his hunt will take him next, we’re busy piecing together the chain of events which have led up to the situations currently taking place.
The story is told at a breakneck pace until the third act when everything slows down, Noé’s ferreting camera included. Seeing Marcus and Alex together at home, relaxed, in love and planning a future; these scenes are loaded with the knowledge of what’s about to happen and their blissful ignorance to it. While there are countless reminders of how the tragedy could have been averted (by circumstance, different decisions, or the heartbreaking silhouetted shape of a would-be saviour passerby who takes a fleeting glance at the rape before fleeing the scene), this is a film about the inevitability of things. Alex quotes from a book: “The future is already written, and the proof is in premonitory dreams,” and reveals her own such dream late on in the film. The sense of helplessness on our part to be able to intercede only compounds the sense that this is fate, unavoidable.
Irreversible is a monumental achievement. From its inspirational camerawork and truly unique soundscape to the depictions of violence and rage, the film leaves behind images burned indelibly on the brain. It’s not just the events of the story the title is referring to; the experience we have just sat through is one we will never completely be free of. If you have it in you, watch Irreversible. This is an exceptional, important film from one of the true visionaries of modern cinema. LB
