Das Mädchen und der Kommissar

Max (Michel Piccoli) was once a judge but resigned, frustrated by letting guilty perps go due to lack of evidence. He joins the Paris Police Force and becomes a detective. Same thing happens - he can't arrest guilty mobsters for the same reason. As this obsession begins to consume him, he devises a plan, which amounts to a sting operation. He hopes this will restore some respect for truth, justice and the French way.

He befriends a prostitute who is also the girlfriend of a small time hood, who was once a childhood friend. Complications arise (you knew that, didn't you?), as the girl is attractive and comes with a heart. Max is stoic as well as obsessed and tries hard not to let sentiment interfere with his plan.

The film's pacing is uneven and involves a great deal of table-setting, so the film takes a while to get going. All the action takes place in the last 20 minutes - be ready to check your watch several times. But the ending is worth the wait, and that's as far as I can go without giving it away. Piccoli gives a thoughtful performance as a man driven by his conception of justice. He is tall and lean and is a commanding presence throughout. Romy Schneider as the bimbo gives what must be her best performance after years of fluff and junk.

This was apparently the film's US premiere as it was not shown here in its initial release. It played at Lincoln Center, NYC, 8/12.

A beautiful crafted story of manipulation and love. A cold revenge of former judge and a terrible confrontation crowning the end. And great cast. A pure inspired story , a large gallery of nuances, precise work of Michel Piccoli and, sure, the seductive Romy Scheider, A precious François Périer as a sort of revenger , prepairing his moment.

A beautiful fresco of a lost time, in same measure, the expected policier suggesting a serious dose of nostalgia and fair structure of machiavelism , in inspired way, giving to viewer, in nice way, clues and doubts about final.

So, a hold up in which the contribution of a cop is decisive, a story of love , in silence but more powerful than you suppose and a wise final.

I went to see this movie today in NEW YORK is going to be show for one week only and for the first time is show in USA, the movie is very good with a great end but what make this movie good is ROMY SCHNEIDER 1938-1982 when she came out in the screen ,she play a prostitute named lily, the question i ask myself was how come somebody can be so beautiful so perfect i have not word to described this woman and beside her talent she was so good in her part i love this movie, ROMY IN REAL LIFE WAS NEVER HAPPY SHE HAVE A5 YEARS LOVE AFFAIR WITH ALAIN DELON AND AFTER THAT SHE MARRIED THE FATHER OF HER LATE SON David EVENTUALLY SHE DIVORCED HIM AND MARRIED DANIEL BIASINI THE FATHER OF HER DAUGHTER SARAH

Excellent crime drama, beautifully underplayed by Michel Piccoli and Romy Schneider. Good story with a beginning, a middle and a surprise ending. You'll think about this film for days afterwards and want to see it again. If you love movies, you'll love this one. It will make you want to see more of Claude Sautet's work. [I have not as yet].

Claude Sautet made some of the finest pictures I have seen, over a period of three decades. If the script he is shooting is occasionally less than interesting, it remains that Sautet's talent is very great. He teamed with Romy Schneider on five films, helping her to shed the sex-doll image she had picked up through the Sixties.

Max is an obsessed, aging detective who sees life through blinkers. His colleagues humour him, although one gets the impression they would like to see him pensioned off. Lily the prostitute he falls for represents the one mistake in his life, if love may be called a mistake. Sautet gives Michel Piccoli and Romy Schneider plenty of room to develop their characters. There is one virtuoso sequence set in a junk yard in Nanterre, a run-down suburb of Paris: Rozinsky describes with no little humour the lives of some marginals, while Sautet's camera prowls around the site.