I am usually pretty downbeat when it comes to the quality of French movies, but this one took me by surprise in a very pleasant way. The problem with movies I love is that I can't find much to say about them. The story is great, the actors are great, I suppose the direction is great too since I was so immersed in the story that I didn't notice anything about it, and the ending was quite moving as well. It's a gritty police movie with realistic dialogues, a well-paced and intriguing storyline and a good balance of action and emotion. Big props to Marc Lavoine who is fantastic as the rotten policeman Julien Bass; I must say I didn't know he could act that well. Heartily recommended.

I've seen quite a few good french crime/cop movies and this ain't bad either. But it doesn't achieve what some of the other movies did. The movie tries to stay connected to (almost) too many people for it's own good. In the end it does work out, but sometimes less can be more (efficient). Still good acting, some solid action scenes, make this a nice watch. Don't be too distracted by some odd story choices and you will enjoy this quite a bit. Of course I also hope that you won't confuse/connect this with other movies. Especially in Germany they try to connect movies, that have nothing in common (in this case it's the lead actor) and give the movies names that sound similar. Your expectations would never be met (one way or the other).

A French crime thriller by Pierre Jolivet, shown lately on a cable channel showed a lot of promise, so we decided to watch. A Marseille based detective, Lucas Scali, is following the trail of a Serbian gang trafficking arms belonging to NATO, stolen from the conflict in that country. Scali and his team follow the criminals to Paris, where his estranged daughter, Maya, also a police detective has been involved in an investigation with illegal drugs being pushed by the same Serbian criminals. The encounter of father and daughter could not have been less auspicious. Maya, working with a dirty police superior, Julien Bass, has been sharing illicit money and drugs, from the different busts all over Paris. Maya resentment on a father she only saw on rare occasions, comes to work with her own team. Her loyalty to Bass comes into play as she realizes the judgment error in teaming up with a dirty superior as she joins forces with her father's team, something that will make her reflect on aspects of her life breaking the same laws she was asked to uphold. The basic problem with the screenplay lies in the fact that most things remain unexplained as the actions meanders wildly all over the place without logic. Mr. Jolivet wrote the screenplay in collaboration with Simon Michael. The cast is headed by Roschdy Zem, a busy actor in the French screen. He is made up as an older man, in contrast with most of his other roles. Best in the film is Leila Bekhti, who is excellent as the woman playing both sides of the law. Marc Lavoine does justice to Bass, the dirty detective. The supporting players do good following M. Jolivet's direction.