This is the other half of the story of seventies classic - 'The French Connection. Jean Dujardin ('The Artist') plays Magistrate Pierre Michel who in 1974 gets promoted to deal with organised crime in Marseilles. Gilles Lellouche ('Mea Culpa' and 'Mesrine') plays the drugs uber lord 'Tany' – who rules with an iron fist and any other implement that can come to hand. He runs a crime network that includes night clubs, casinos and restaurants and will do anything to keep what he has and make tons more cash
This is one of those times when crims made so much money that they could buy their way out of trouble – even before they were in it. So inevitably Michel has more than the crooks to do battle with. It follows the story from the mid seventies and into the eighties and it is one helluva ride.
The period detail is excellent, the cars, fashions and the music are all spot one – even the decor. There is violence and plenty of potty mouth goings on, but it is all in context. It is also a stylish film that means that most shots are great to look at as well as being intensely entertaining. This is a film that should get a lot more attention and if you are a stranger to French cinema it may be a good one to start with to see just how well they can make them.
