Le premier cercle

Milo Malikian (Jean Reno) is the head of an Armenian "crime family" in the south of France that is about to pull off a daring multi-million euro heist. But his dreamy son, Anton, is more interested in starting a family with the lovely nurse Elodie than continuing with the family business, much to his father's disappointment. To complicate matters, a police inspector who's crossed paths with the Malikians in the past is hot on the trail. There are some really nice elements in this film (lovely southern France location shots and appealing and charismatic actors), but while the build-up to the heist is well done, the film seems incomplete, and that's not referring only to the weirdly truncated ending. Potential themes are introduced in the film but never developed. Historical footage of the Armenian genocide introduces the film, but its relevancy to the current Malikian family and business is never explored. The police inspector on their trail is warned by his superior not to become obsessed with taking down the Malikian clan, but other than the fact that we was part of an operation that resulted in the death of Milo's eldest son, there's no development of his character or particular obsession. The unsatisfying ending feels as if the budget ran out and the filmmaker had to cut it short. Enjoyable, but not quite France's version of "Heat" either.

I love Jean Reno (Leon: The Professional, Godzilla, Ronin, The Crimson Rivers). That may color my impression of the film as a whole. He plays an Armenian mafia head in France. He is cool, tough, and everything I have always loved about his acting.

Gaspar Ulliel (A Very Long Engagement) plays his son, Anton. Anton wants out of the mob and wants to live a normal life with his love Elodie, played by Vahina Giocante (Lila Says).

Sami Bouajila (Days of Glory, The Siege) is Saunier, the police inspector trying to catch the gang as they plan one last heist that will set them up for life.

Director Laurent Tuel did not waste a second in this dark film. It was captivating from beginning to end, even if it turned out as expected. The soundtrack was excellent. It was worth watching just to hear it.

Although I mainly watch American films, I make a point of watching foreign films every so often for variety and to see a genre possibly done in a different way. When I saw this at the video store, I thought: "Cool! Jean Reno is a colorful actor, and the video box art and the title of the movie suggest that this will be jam-packed with action and suspense!" I rented it, took it home... and I was very disappointed. I could make a long list about everything that disappointed me about this movie. For starters, Jean Reno is in less of the movie than you might think. And as for action, there is almost no action in the entire running time! Still, the movie could have worked by showing us interesting drama or colorful and interesting other characters. But that's not what happens. The plot is VERY slow-moving, with a lot of boring chat that doesn't advance things very much. And the movie looks and sounds weird; the cinematography has a soft, washed-out look you often see in French movies, and the audio doesn't crackle with life (such as the fact that scene after scene goes by with no musical score in the background.) In fact, the movie has more of a made-for-TV feel than a theatrical film feeling.

I'll still take a chance on foreign films in the future, whether they are French or not. But I'll be more careful in my selections. I now know that foreign film companies can be like American film companies, promising something but delivering something else - and that "something else" not being very good at all.

A hard-boiled, slickly entertainingly, bullet-paced Policier about an infamous Armenian crime family ruthlessly headed by powerful boss, Milo Malakian (Jean Reno). His rebellious, altogether less bloodthirsty son, Anton (Gaspard Ulliel) secretly wants out, enjoy some bucolic domesticity with his lava hot nurse fiancee, Elodie (Vahina Giocante). Needless to say his son's imminent defection, ever mounting paranoia, and the relentless hounding by vengeful L'inspecteur Saunier (Sami Bouajila) bodes ill for the fractured Malakian clan! While formulaic, the action is dynamically mounted, performances are uniformly credible, Alain Kremski's lyrical piano score is a delight, and the terse, volatile atmosphere is frequently redolent of a vintage Lenzi Polizioteschi! Laurent Tuel's consistently gripping 'Le Premier Cercle' is an above average Euro-crime thriller that, sadly, seems to have been overlooked. The desperate airplane heist is genuinely thrilling, and Jean Reno fans are in for a real treat. If 'Le Premier Cercle' had been shot in the late 60s, I could readily see, Alain Delon as Anton, and burly Lino Ventura as Milo!

Despite the Armenian church service and the historical introduction, the ethnic theme is a bit weak (and do the Armenians in real life actually have their own mafiosi?), and this hasn't the richness of Melville, or 'The Godfather,' or Téchiné's 'Les Voleurs.' But this film is satisfying precisely for the qualities that cause some to dismiss it: it's understated, elegant, and sensually pleasing, with beautiful images and a musical accompaniment far above genre and cool, classy criminals who project a sense of being fearless and professional. This is the kind of stylish European crime film with sleek cars, sunlit villas, and drives along the Riviera that you can enjoy for the atmosphere as much as anything else. Everyone dresses in black. Sami Bouajila's cop too (Bouajila the actor also himself a consummate professional, very solid here); his black outfits are just a bit dustier and shabbier. Gaspard Ulliel grows up here from most of his earlier roles (after already having become macho and heroic as the peasant hero of the 2007 'Jacquou le croquant') slicking his hair back, bulging out of his designer clothes, peering over his designer shades. Both he and Réno show very little emotion, projecting instead the dedication of stoical members of a tight clan. I don't know if you can believe Antona's plan of breaking away. How is he supposed to do that by taking over a hotel in the Camargue set up by somebody his father works with, right under his nose, and without the money for the down payment? This is less convincing and less well developed than something like Thomas Seyr (Romain Duris) wanting to become a concert pianist in Audiard's 'The Beat My Heart Skipped'. But this to me is like the beautiful, elegant 1957 'No Sun in Venice' ('Sait-on jamais'), directed by Roger Vadim, which a user wisely said is "worth it for the music and the visuals." Only 'Le premier cercle' ('The Ultimate Heist,' sadly generic title) doesn't have a classic sound track by the Modern Jazz Quartet. 'Le premier cercle' also relates to the Marseilles-based "Frank Riva" TV trilogy starring the aging, mellower Alain Delon. But 'Le premier cercle' is more stylish and restrained. It lets you wallow in cool.