Auf offener Straße

A police investigator specializes in busting as many narcotics dealers as he can, but aside from the sad fact that drugs seem to have permanently permeated society, his sincere efforts are often undermined by his own department superiors. Both aspects are very well dramatized. As well, he faces the problem in a more personal way because of his ambiguous relationship with a heroin addict prostitute. At one point his best street informant is exposed by one of the officers in his own police unit, who declares that "you can always find another one". Laying the groundwork, going from stakeout to stakeout and from slum to slum, the film has a gritty authenticity and the main character played by Didier Bezace makes a unique cop who actually believes in what he's doing.

This film was a relentless eye opener to a seedy world which we do not want to believe is true but unfortunately as in the case of Paris it has only gotten worse.

What makes the film work? Well I think it works because of the broken up and choppy style between scenes. We do not move from scene 1 to 2 to 3 until eventually we come to a happy conclusion, instead we are moved here and there not ultimately leading us to a big bust or the worst bad guy, but simply the guys the police have to deal with on a daily basis. At least for me these small time crimes are reflective of real police work, we are not chasing some super intelligent sicko serial killer here, it's not CSI, Bones, or any of those silly shows.

In a perfect world the police would have the resources and power to stop illegal acts, but the police force like any large government institution becomes bogged down and convoluted under it's own weight. Imagine writing off to the stationery department to get a stapler if you were a cop, this would invariably happen. And at least Tavernier can show us the unglorious truth in it's ridiculous splendour.

There is also no black and white areas here. The police give junkies drugs for information. They use some tough methods with the criminals. They're methods are often made up on the spot and often things go horribly wrong.

I cannot recommend this film enough. I picked it up on the off chance and I was not at all disappointed.

A gritty, realistic film on a cop with mission to get drug peddlers off the streets. Stylistically, it is a mix of Pialat's lovely film "Police" and Friedkin's "The French Connection"--only more realistic than both. Two actors--Didier Bezace (the lead mustached cop Lulu) and Lara Guirao (Lulu's friend Cecile --a beautiful hooker. Informant, with HIV, and drug addict who has a platonic relationship with Lulu) are wonderful characters. Tavernier dedicates the film to his son Nils. The film also underscores the lack of facilities for hardworking cops from the government. They file reports when the carbon paper for typed out reports are in short supply and they are short of vehicles. Yet, the cops keep going. The film is co-scripted by Tavernier and is an original screenplay of the director and. Michel Alexandre.

TFO is running a series of Bertrand Tavernier's films; L. 627 is just another example of this man's bewildering versatility--costume epics, science fiction, exotic noir, gritty slice-of-life pictures. Here we have police procedure with a more despairing tone than Hollywood has ever given us. The light cynicism of the French Connection has become a cry of despair over police corruption and bureaucratic nonsense. The only problem: at 145 minutes, it's far too long, since there is no plot the viewer can hang on to, just a series of vignettes.

The actors are great: Lara Guirao impresses as the HIV-positive hooker whom Lulu is attracted to, but can't have sex with. Philippe Torreton is his usual frightening self as Lulu's partner, while Jean-Paul Comart is the boss from hell: irresponsible (tear gas in the coin toilet), concerned only with filling quotas. Dodo leads the squad into a squalid room with two African women and a baby, the resulting foul-up has to be seen to be believed. Didier Bezace wise-cracks his way through the chaos, showing us some of his pain.

Tavernier's examination of the Paris police's losing battle against the drug-dealers was reportedly inspired by the experience of his son's addiction. It is an angry, despairing film. Early on the central character says that "all drug-dealers are terrorists" and later the police chief says that "my son is 13. He will have already met his first dealer".

This is a documentary-style examination from the front-line, where the police are demoralised, under-resourced, corrupt and incompetent. The 'hero', Lulu, (an outstanding performance by Didier Bezace) is a maverick detective who gets transferred to desk duties when he is angered by his drunken boss demanding the return of the unit's van in the middle of a stakeout - so he can go home! After struggling with the police station's incompetent bureaucracy, Lulu is placed in a new anti-drugs unit, led by practical joker Dodo, concerned only with filling in forms and meeting the Ministry's statistical targets.

The whole film rings true, right down to the tedious form-filling using old typewriters and stolen carbon-paper. There is no real plot, as the unit stumbles from disaster to disaster, but rather a series of incidents punctuated by much eating and drinking. As if to contrast with the chaos of the police unit, the film is shot calmly and lucidly by Tavernier. By the end of the film you have become involved with the characters and want to know more about their bleak futures. A wonderful film, and as good a portrait of policing (at its worst) as you will see.