Les anarchistes

This film suffers of a flat directing but is rather more than inspired concerning the acting and especially a solid script. It speaks of an undercover cop - Tahar Rahim - sent to a mission: infiltrate a group of anarchists, idealistic young men and women who seek a better society, and who fight against rich people who rule the country. It takes place in Paris, by the end of the 19th century. The Rahim character is outstanding and so ambivalent, no the real hero here. The characterization is powerful too. But, I repeat, the directing could have been far better.

I recommend it anyway.

This is a period piece set in Paris of 1899. Political change is rampant throughout Europe and new ideas are being propagated as an alternative to the many broken societies and the vast gulf between the haves and have nots. The anarchists were and indeed are such a 'group' if that is indeed the right noun of assemblage.

Tahir Rahman ('A Prophet' and 'The Cut') plays Jean Albertini; an educated policeman who gets chosen to go undercover and expose the dark underbelly of the anarchists in Paris. He takes to his new role like a duck to water. Amongst his new comrades are Judith Lorillard played by the sultry Adèle Exarchopoulos ('Blue is the warmest colour') and a very aggressive Guillaume Gouix playing Eugène Levèque an alpha male who wants to take the struggle to the next level – confrontation.

Now this plays out in a linear format and as well as the politics, personal strife's and some very well acted scenes this should be a rollicking good adventure. However, it just lacks oomph and moments of high drama seem to almost fizzle out before they get under way. This could be down to the direction from Elie Wajeman who brought us 'Aliyah' which was a fairly good, but unreported, film. It is not down to the acting and the script looked pretty much spot on. That said this is still a reasonable watch but more above average rather than the blast it could and possibly should have been given the talent on display here.

This is another side of the French so called "Belle Epoque" with a painstaking reconstruction of the era.

The hero's motives ,as an informer in the pay of the police ,are not clear :don't we learn his relative was part of La Commune (insurrection of Paris against the French government from March 18 to May 28, 1871. It occurred in the wake of Napoleon the Third's defeat) ; many of the older anarchists took part in the rebellion .

It's hard to be at one with an informer ,and his attitude till the very end remains ambiguous : the obligatory love affair with some kind of Louise Michel is too predictable and a cliché too often used.

The working class condition is told in voice over by the heroine , at the beginning of the movie , but one sees little of the exploitation of the laboring classes in the plot; the anarchists are shown as gentlemen cambrioleurs , (Arsene Lupin lived in this era) , who steal from the rich (but do they give to the poor and the needy ,or do they use them for weapons for their attacks ?)

On the other hand , a most interesting side shows some anarchists being suspicious : is this new recruit really sincere? Some have their doubts ,but his squeeze , who knows him better than everyone,has none,which is a bit implausible .Folie à deux ,maybe...

As for the soundtrack ,it's highly debatable :only the anarchist song, performed a capella by a camarade, has something to do with French culture ; on the other hand,the obscure English song over the cast and credits ,the Mighty Diamonds" reggae "declaration of rights" and Ray Davis ' "I go to sleep" are irrelevant in a FRENCH movie about a French period ;why not "le temps des cerises" ,huh?

Strange coincidence , Tahar Rahim was chosen for the part of Judas in "Mary Magdelene " (2018)