La French

In the late 1960s and early 1970s drugs were flowing from Marseille to New York in a sophisticated and sustained operation. The Americans made two movies about the racket: "The French Connection" (1971) set in New York and "The French Connection II" (1975) located in Marseiiles, in both cases with Gene Hackman famously playing the police crime-buster. French cinema too has had two cracks at telling the story: first with "The Judge" (1984) and then with "The Connection" ("La French" in French) in 2014.

In the French films, the hero is not a policeman but a magistrate, in "The Connection" played by played by Jean Dujardin, best known outside France for his performance in the silent film "The Artist". The role of the chief criminal is taken by Gilles Lelouche. There is a short scene where the two meet alone which is reminiscent of the cafe scene between Al Pacino and Robert de Niro in "Heat". "The Connection" is not one of the the classics like "The French Connection" and "Heat" but it is a stylish, if clichéd, thriller with hand-held camera-work and atmospheric soundtrack adding to the impact.

I watched this movie and was impressed by a solid story line (it is not your average crime movie), the good actors and the attention for detail. As another reviewer wrote, you should really see especially if you want an impression of what a good French movie consists of.

This is the other half of the story of seventies classic - 'The French Connection. Jean Dujardin ('The Artist') plays Magistrate Pierre Michel who in 1974 gets promoted to deal with organised crime in Marseilles. Gilles Lellouche ('Mea Culpa' and 'Mesrine') plays the drugs uber lord 'Tany' – who rules with an iron fist and any other implement that can come to hand. He runs a crime network that includes night clubs, casinos and restaurants and will do anything to keep what he has and make tons more cash

This is one of those times when crims made so much money that they could buy their way out of trouble – even before they were in it. So inevitably Michel has more than the crooks to do battle with. It follows the story from the mid seventies and into the eighties and it is one helluva ride.

The period detail is excellent, the cars, fashions and the music are all spot one – even the decor. There is violence and plenty of potty mouth goings on, but it is all in context. It is also a stylish film that means that most shots are great to look at as well as being intensely entertaining. This is a film that should get a lot more attention and if you are a stranger to French cinema it may be a good one to start with to see just how well they can make them.

Great movie. You can feel the 1970-1980 life. And a good guy-bad guy battle, with the comparisons, is not bad actually. The selection of actors is very good to. This non static movie remind me to the earlier movie "The French Connection", with a similitude, but this movie is recorded with the Hollywood modern way. The faces of the actors remind me to that era to. I only miss a revenge to a judge's family, but never happens. This Movie is a great deal for Action-Triller lovers. Love the colors and this sepia effects in some frames. If you love action films of earlier eras, this is a movie for you. Beautiful story, good actors and great landscapes. Recomendable

In the many reviews and description of the movie, it is mentioned that Pierre Michel is a detective. That is wrong. Pierre Michel was a judge, which is very different from a detective. Was Pierre Michel doing a detective work? Well it could be considered as yes, but his main work position was being a judge.