Gilles Lellouche – We Are Movie Geeks

THE CONNECTION – The Review

THE CONNECTION owes much to the standard cops and gangster films that have come before it. This isn’t a bad thing entirely, just having seen so many crime films, there’s a familiar tone that’s hard to shake. You can only show a determined cop hunt down a criminal kingpin and his cohorts so many times without feeling like you’ve seen this chase before. THE CONNECTION doesn’t do anything we haven’t seen before but does it with confidence and style.

Inspired by real events and acting as a side-sequel to William Friedkin’s THE FRENCH CONNECTION, Cédric Jimenez’s THE CONNECTION (LE FRENCH in it’s native country) follows new police magistrate Pierre Michel as he attempts to take down the heroin trade out of Marseille. His prime target is the notorious Zappa, but figuring out a way to pin him to the crimes is harder for Pierre than he thought. As a result, both sides lose men as the fight rages from France to New York.

Jean Dujardin’s Pierre is 100% incorruptible, and yet there’s still a level of cool to his grounded demeanor so that he isn’t some annoying boy scout. On the opposite end, Gilles Lellouche gives Zappa a heavy screen presence without being an evil caricature. In fact, both characters approach their jobs in a similar fashion. Their families are extremely important to each of them, but at the end of the day they know they have a job to do. Adding to the similarity between the two men is the fact that they look strikingly similar to one another. It’s an interesting dynamic initially but is something that gets overly spotlighted throughout the 2 hour and 15 minute duration.

Even though the film takes place in 1975, surprisingly, there are few instances of actual songs from the period – one scene that shows the burden of Pierre’s job and its psychological effects does effectively use Velvet Underground’s “I’m Set Free.” Instead, a low electronic pulse is provided by composer Guillaume Roussel. His score seems right at home with the 70’s plaid suits, vintage cars, and disco clubs. What works equally as well is the art direction. A hazy warm glow coats many of the scenes creating a fresh backdrop compared to the murky, grey underworlds we typically see in crime films. Lush seascapes and rocky cliff-side roads give the film a uniquely French look. These elements do provide a somewhat new and unique air, but all of this can only amount to so much given a story structure that feels old hat.

Unlike the gritty world of crooked cops in Friedkin’s 1971 film, THE CONNECTION tries to be something greater and… well… sort-of succeeds. It’s an amiable attempt at being an entry into the “crime epic” category – a genre popularized by Scorsese and Coppola. It’s certainly epic by design, but never truly earns that title. Nothing is blatantly wrong with the film and yet nothing truly shines either. Like the character Dujardin plays, you could say THE CONNECTION is serviceable.

Overall score: 3 out of 5

THE CONNECTION is now playing exclusively at Landmark’s Tivoli Theater in St. Louis

Jean Dujardin Stars In THE CONNECTION Trailer

From Drafthouse Films comes the new trailer & poster for THE CONNECTION, the action-packed European flip side to The French Connection, starring Academy Award winner Jean Dujardin.

Directed and co-written by Cédric Jimenez, THE CONNECTION was entirely shot on 35 mm and is the European flipside to William Friedkin’s The French Connection.

A stylish, 70’s-period crime thriller inspired by true events, it tells the story of real-life Marseilles magistrate Pierre Michel (Jean Dujardin) and his relentless crusade to dismantle the most notorious drug smuggling operation in history: the French Connection.

In his crosshairs is charismatic and wealthy kingpin, Gatean “Tany” Zampa (Gilles Lellouche), who runs the largest underground heroin trade into the States. Though the fearless and tenacious Michel, aided by a task force of elite cops, will stop at nothing–including boldly orchestrated drug raids, devastating arrests, and exacting interrogations–to ensure the crime ring’s demise, Zampa’s “La French” always seems one step ahead.

As La French mounts its retaliation, Michel will be forced to make the most difficult decision of his life: to continue waging his war, or ensure his family’s safety, before it’s too late.

THE CONNECTION is director and co-writer Cédric Jimenez’ second feature film following Aux Yeux de Tous. A native of Marseilles, a city long known for its drug trafficking activities, Jimenez brings a keen knowledge of the place to his latest film.

In theaters on May 15, the film also features Céline Sallette (Rust and Bone), Mélanie Doutey (The Flower of Evil), and Benoît Magimel (The Piano Teacher).

http://drafthousefilms.com/film/the-connection

Drafthouse Films Picks Up LA FRENCH Starring Jean Dujardin

Drafthouse Films has acquired the US distribution rights to Cédric Jimenez’s period crime thriller LA FRENCH starring Jean Dujardin. A dazzling eight minute promo reel debuted at this week’s Cannes Film Festival, resulting in a prebuy bidding war for distribution rights in multiple territories. This deal marks the first collaboration between Gaumont and Drafthouse Films.

Marseille. 1975. Pierre Michel, a young magistrate with a wife and children, has just been transferred to help in the crackdown on organized crime. He decides to take on the French Connection, a mafia-run operation that exports heroin the world over. Paying heed to no one’s warnings, he leads a one-man campaign against mafia kingpin Gaetan Zampa, the most untouchable godfather of them all. The European flipside to William Friedkin’s The French Connection, Cédric Jimenez’s La French is also based on a true story.

LA FRENCH was produced by Alain Goldman and Legende Films, was directed by Cédric Jimenez and stars Jean Dujardin as Pierre Michel opposite Gilles Lellouche as mob boss Gaetan Zempa.

While in Cannes to promote the movie, Dujardin told Variety LA FRENCH was the first film he decided to do after winning an Oscar for “The Artist.”

“One of our goals is to get young audiences excited about foreign language film,” says Drafthouse Films founder and CEO Tim League. “We combed the market and devoured the official selections. Nothing excited us more than LA FRENCH.”

“I am proud that La French is going to be released by Drafthouse,” said director Cédric Jimenez. “They defend “cinema de qualité” with passion and talent. We are extremely excited to work with them.”

The movie was shot on 35mm and will be screened theatrically in select venues in 35mm along with a collection of vintage 35mm classic crime trailers curated by Cédric Jimenez (DCPs will also be available). Drafthouse Films also plans a limited edition VHS release for the film in addition to traditional DVD, Bluray and digital formats.

The deal was negotiated by Cecile Gaget and Yohann Comte from Gaumont International and James Shapiro and Tim League from Drafthouse Films.

SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS Trailer Hits And Warner Bros. End-Of-Year Slate

Watch as NOOMI RAPACE as Sim, ROBERT DOWNEY JR. as Sherlock Holmes and JUDE LAW as Dr. Watson in the trailer for Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures action adventure mystery SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS.

SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS will be in theaters on December 16

Director: Guy Ritchie
Writers: Michele Mulroney & Kieren Mulroney
Producers: Joel Silver, Lionel Wigram, Susan Downey, Dan Lin
Executive Producer: Bruce Berman

Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Noomi Rapace, Jared Harris, Eddie Marsan, Stephen Fry

Action Adventure Mystery. Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) has always been the smartest man in the room…until now. There is a new criminal mastermind at large—Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris)—and not only is he Holmes’ intellectual equal, but his capacity for evil, coupled with a complete lack of conscience, may actually give him an advantage over the renowned detective. When the Crown Prince of Austria is found dead, the evidence, as construed by Inspector Lestrade (Eddie Marsan), points to suicide. But Sherlock Holmes deduces that the prince has been the victim of murder—a murder that is only one piece of a larger and much more portentous puzzle, designed by one Professor Moriarty. Mixing business with pleasure, Holmes tracks the clues to an underground gentlemen’s club, where he and his brother, Mycroft Holmes (Stephen Fry) are toasting Dr. Watson (Jude Law) on his last night of bachelorhood. It is there that Holmes encounters Sim (Noomi Rapace), a Gypsy fortune teller, who sees more than she is telling and whose unwitting involvement in the prince’s murder makes her the killer’s next target. Holmes barely manages to save her life and, in return, she reluctantly agrees to help him. The investigation becomes ever more dangerous as it leads Holmes, Watson and Sim across the continent, from England to France to Germany and finally to Switzerland. But the cunning Moriarty is always one step ahead as he spins a web of death and destruction—all part of a greater plan that, if he succeeds, will change the course of history.

www.sherlockholmes2.com

Warner Bros. Pictures has a busy end-of-the-year lineup. Here’s a preview at their upcoming films and release dates.

HAPPY FEET TWO (Animated Adventure) – November 18
NEW YEAR’S EVE (Romantic Comedy) – December 9. From director Garry Marshall, “New Year’s Eve” celebrates love, hope, forgiveness, second chances and fresh starts, in the intertwining stories told amidst the pulse and promise of New York City on the most dazzling night of the year. The film stars Halle Berry, Jessica Biel, Jon Bon Jovi, Abigail Breslin, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Robert De Niro, Josh Duhamel, Zac Efron, Hector Elizondo, Katherine Heigl, Ashton Kutcher, Seth Meyers, Lea Michele, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michelle Pfeiffer, Til Schweiger, Hilary Swank, and Sofia Vergara.
SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS (Action Adventure Mystery) – December 16
EXTREMELY LOUD & INCREDIBLY CLOSE (Drama) – December. From director Stephen Daldry & producer Scott Rudin, Oskar (Thomas Horn) is convinced that his father (Tom Hanks), who died in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, has left a final message for him hidden somewhere in the city. Feeling disconnected from his grieving mother (Sandra Bullock) and driven by a relentlessly active mind that refuses to believe in things that can’t be observed, Oskar begins searching New York City for the lock that fits a mysterious key he found in his father’s closet. His journey through the five boroughs takes him beyond his own loss to a greater understanding of the observable world around him. Based on the novel by Jonathan Safran Foer with a screenplay by Eric Roth, the film also stars James Gandolfini, Zoe Caldwell, Viola Davis, Jeffrey Wright, Max von Sydow.
J. EDGAR (Drama) – Undated. From director Clint Eastwood, producers Clint Eastwood, Brian Grazer, Robert Lorenz and writer Dustin Lance Black, “J. Edgar” explores the public and private life of one of the most powerful, controversial and enigmatic figures of the 20th century. As the face of law enforcement in America for almost fifty years, J. Edgar Hoover (DiCaprio) was feared and admired, reviled and revered. But behind closed doors, he held secrets that would have destroyed his image, his career and his life. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Naomi Watts, Judi Dench, Armie Hammer, Josh Lucas, and Ken Howard.

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