36 Quai des Orfèvres

I had the privilege of seeing this film at the Lincoln Center (NY City) Rendezvous with French Cinema in March 2005 with the director, Olivier Marchal, in attendance.

The film stars Daniel Auteuil, Gerard Depardieu, and Valeria Golino. The two male leads play rivals for the position of Chief of Police in the same district of Paris. Depardieu's character is the heavy and the actor does a magnificent job. But so does Auteuil as the "good guy" and Golino as his wife. Marchal both wrote and directed this film, drawing on his former life as, in fact, a Paris cop and based the events in the film on some real occurrences from the 80s in Paris. There are drug dealers and corrupt cops, to be sure, but what gives this film tremendous power is the combination of the superb acting and a tough, smart script.

The current chief is in line to a promotion to commissioner and knows the personalities of the two rivals well--so well, in fact, that he engages in some devious manipulative actions to set them against each other. The resulting tension and conflict between these two is what gives the film its tremendous momentum. The plotting is perfect; this film does everything it's supposed to do, and a lot more, to grab the viewer by the throat and not let go until the end.

Upon conclusion of the film, the director was bombarded with questions. One of them was whether or not the film has American distribution. One would think that with two French mega-stars like Auteuil and Depardieu, no problem, right? Wrong. Marchal indicated that the film was picked up for distribution throughout the world EXCEPT in the US. It is my fervent hope that some American studio/distributor smartens up and then snaps up this film which is, without question, the absolute best policier in more than 20 years. The last great film in this genre from France was La Balance, directed, interestingly enough, by an American ex-pat, Bob Swaim. That was in 1982. Even Tavernier's L.627, 1992, is not a strong contender.

But 36 Quai des Orfevres is the real deal. The title refers to the street address of the district precinct station whose sign, in a nifty opening sequence, is ripped off by...well, you'll just have to see for yourself.

Very highly recommended. A great thriller--formidable! (French for terrific).

The film by Olivier Marchal has recently been released in Polish cinemas under quite a misleading title, 36, which does not indicate much to an average movie goer. And the same was as to me. I went to see it not because it is based on true facts (no handout said it), nor because it is a thriller (I am not a particular fan of such films) but because of two main actors, Gerard Depardieu and Daniel Auteuil, both remarkably popular in Europe. The movie surprised me, not only due to the performances of the above mentioned persons, but because of the content and the way it is presented.

MESSAGE AND REALISM: It would be silly to present now the content of the film. Many before me have already done it. All I would like to say, or in other words, all I would like to draw viewer's attention to are two factors: what the film generally wants to convey and why it is so natural. Marchal's film IS (I do not deny) filled with violence. It shows the methods of the worst criminals. A particularly disgusting moment was beating of a woman in a bar, close friend of the cops. However, the main idea and focus is not directed towards the criminals that much as rather towards two cops who can also be influenced by decadence and brutality. Leo Vrinks (Daniel Auteuil) is definitely a good man, attached to his family and striking for justice indefatigably fighting against the pack of bandits. His former friend, however, Denis Klein (Gerard Depardieu) moves his goals in a different direction... Therefore, the end shows that they get what each one deserves... Therefore, the movie is a wonderful message of how people stir their goals in life. At the same time, it is a very natural presentation of the world of the cops, how risky their lives are, how they really have to deal with most serious crimes. But here, it is important to state that by showing violence, the film IN NO WAY tries to promote it, but aims at a realistic image of the main characters' reality.

CAST: The performances are great. Most people play very naturally, which makes the film a true adventure. There are such moments in which you feel that you are there with Vrinks. The director wonderfully manages to lead a viewer to the action, to be controlled by it, to sink in it. And that proves the fact that the film is a very talented piece of work.

EMOTIONS: I was very, very surprised how many gentle moments the producers entailed in a thriller. On the one hand, we see the corruption and decadence of the criminal world; on the other hand, there is love and gentleness. I will never forget the moment when Vrinks is in a jail and does all he can in despair to see his wife, Camille Vrinks (Valeria Golino). Their delicate kiss and gentle words "I love you" later occur to be the key aspects of their last meeting in this world. And the sequence of Vrinks and his 17 year old daughter, Lola (played by Auteuil's real daughter Aurore Auteuil). He is showed as a man who has never been spoiled by the world he dealt with. The emotions that the movie shows are really worth attention - no kitsch, no tearjerker, but real life!

To sum up, I have to say that I liked the movie. Not many French films are released in Poland, not many of them are famous in the world (pity), but after seeing Marchal's film, I consider it one of the best of its genre. Really, honor meets decadence and gentleness meets brutality. Isn't that realistic?

I really wanted to like 36. It opens slick and energetic and it retains those two qualities throughout. The problem is that it picks up no other qualities along the way.

The promising looking cast are a let down. The plot veers all over the place. By the end of the film I found it impossible to care why anyone was chasing around doing whatever it was they were doing.

36 isn't awful. It is a pacey and at times very entertaining thriller, but it falls far short of its lofty target.

If you want a cop versus cop thriller watch Heat. If you want a French thriller watch The Beat That My Heart Skipped. If 36 happens to be on the telly one evening, well, you could do worse.

The opening in 36 has got to be one of the more arresting (pun not intended) starters in a movie I've watched in some time, especially if you're a fan of Euro-electronica, where a catchy tune paces the multiple action happening on screen.

The French police is stumped by a gang of armed robbers whose fast and brutal methods leave no witnesses. Of course the politicians are angry and want immediate results in the capture of these criminals. The stakes are raised when a vacant seat in higher office is opened to the officer who manages to do so.

Leo Vrinks is a decorated cop with questionable methods. Toeing the line that separates cops from thugs, his team of officers and himself are tasked to bring these criminals to justice. His rival, Denis Klein, also a celebrated cop, wants the case for himself, but unceremoniously gets his team and himself relegated to a support role in the sting operation.

Naturally, unexpected things happen during the operation because of Denis' callous behaviour, and lives on both sides are lost. But no, the show doesn't end there when the thugs are captured, as the rivalry between the men spill over and provides more than sufficient fuel for the second half of the movie.

I guess it's the same at most offices, where promotion's at stake, the struggles and intense rivalry may get into the way of the greater good in getting the objective achieved. Methods are questioned, where morality and ethics are put into the spotlight - does the end really justify any means necessary? Like memorable HK police thriller Infernal Affairs, it is the powerful relationship between the main characters that this drama explores and excels in, with excellent acting from Daniel Auteuil and Gerard Depardieu as the bitter men with ambiguous methods and morales.

It's a relatively tight storyline, and you'll have to pay close attention to the subplots in order to be able to piece together how and why the ending was as presented. Highly recommended stuff.

I discovered this one in a cinema magazine where 36 Quai Des Orfèvres was presented as a hot thriller coming out on DVD. I read first the reviews on this site and the rating and then I didn't hesitate to order it. Wow, I am happy I bought it because I spent a wonderful entertaining Saturday evening watching a big thriller with my wife. I will add it no doubt to my best of DVD collection. My congratulations to all the stuff for this super job with lot of plots, intrigues and twists. The main characters were well developed and played by the great actors Daniel Auteil and as usual Gérard Depardieu. I am surprised what the french film scene presented recently to the audience with good thrillers as for example CRIMSON RIVERS I and II, L'EMPIRE DES LOUPS and the funny ones L'ENQUETE CORSE and TAIS-TOI. Standing ovations and I have my great respect for all. These movies are much more better than the last thrillers I saw from Hollywood. The running time was not long in respect of the similar US-thriller HEAT that was too long and not so hot as 36 Quai Des Orfèvres. For all theses reasons I give with my wife a solid 7/10 that matches nearly the actual vote of 7.2 on IMDb. Don't miss it, you won't regret.