L'ultima missione

I am not going to write a review. Only a few thoughts about this feature. It was a lucky accident to discover the Olvier Marchal movies thanks to my European friends. In a few days I saw a several of them and this one easily became my favorite.

The story about lost soul desperately trying to reunite with the love of his life. The only way to do so is to die. The most acceptable way to do it by drinking himself to death. He grew up as a Christian after all, so quick death is not an option. The long struggle helps him to dignify his own death. The sin, the redemption, the death and the rebirth of the character - that's what I found in this feature.

Some movies are saved by their actors.To write that the movie is derivative is to state the obvious .It borrows from many of the American thrillers of the nineties ,the inmate (notably) is another reincarnation of Hannibal. Fortunately,no Clarice,but Justine ,daughter of his victims ,whose part is the most interesting of the whole movie.Her commitment to her grandpa is extraordinary and the scene of the mass for the dead rings true .Her relationship with the hero is more conventional but the viewer really needed some sunlight breaking out.

A hero who has perhaps never deserved more to be called anti hero.It takes a lot of nerve ,a lot of genius and a lot of courage to play such a demeaning part of a fallen cop,who smells urine and alcohol ,with an haggard face who seems to have suffered his misfortunes without complain. Daniel Auteuil is ,much more than Depardieu,to the French cinema what Jean Gabin was half a century ago and besides he ages more gracefully .This part and that of Nicole Garcia's "L'Adversaire" are among his finest performances.The only thing that's lacking is a firm strong screenplay.This one is a bit desultory ,but who cares?Auteuil carries the movie on his shoulders ,with fine support by Olivia Bonamy.

Well I stepped into an avalanche,it covered up my soul..... (L.C.)

This movie should not be rated for its plot, or the good guys vs bad guys, or any other standard used to rate normal movies. This movie is an homage. An homage to the suffering, the courage and the lives of the real people on which the story is based.

Every aspect of this film breathes with the same deep respect for what happened. The reality it brings into the room takes your breath away... You cannot watch this movie and escape its grasp.

Daniel Auteuil and everyone else in the cast did their jobs with dignity. They played their roles the way they should be played and the aftertaste is bitter... but filled with reverence.

Watch this movie without reading the plot. Let it happen to you, expect nothing and allow yourself to care.

I'm sure you'll agree; 10 out of 10. Easily.

I discovered this brutal but entertaining thriller checking all directed movies by Olivier Marchal. I don't regret because it was never boring. There were plenty twists and dramatic moments.

The story is built up carefully with dark and violent pictures. There are some nudity scenes to keep high the attention... I have only one critic: the identity of the killer could have been revealed with much more suspense.

Toward the end it was so far emotionally that I had nearly tears in my eyes.

Daniel Auteuil and all the other actors delivered a superb and cool performance. Finally Olivier Marchal presented a great thriller worth watching.

MR 7/10

Former cop Olivier Marchal presents us with a bleak picture of French cop on the end of the line. While things looked almost hopeless for the main character in his previous directorial work, 36, here they are utterly hopeless.

We meet Louis, a completely alcoholic cop who downs a bottle of whiskey a day, as he in a drunken stupor hijacks a bus full of people so that the bus driver can drive him home. Internal affairs gives him a break and assigns him to answer phones during night duty. Louis used to date one of the IA officers. He's in the middle of a serial killer investigation; the killer brutally rapes and kills women in their home. Even though he's off the case, Louis can't let go and continues to investigate. In fact, he solves the case and with his partner orchestrates a fantastically botched operation to apprehend the killer. This time around he's kicked off the force.

A parallel story involves a pregnant woman whose parents were killed 25 years ago. The killer, now an old religious man, is about to be paroled. She doesn't believe in his rehabilitation. It's only late in the film that we find out how this story connects to the main story. It was Louis who put the killer in jail. She now contacts Louis to inform him that the killer is out. And sure enough, the killer stalks and threatens the woman. Louis who at this point has nothing to lose decides to take on his last, personal, and very deadly mission with the help of a MR-73 a gun that belongs to his partner.

We are told that this is movie is based on real events and it would be interesting to find out what aspect of it is true. This seems to be a very personal movie for Marchal. Once again, as in 36, we are exposed not to the glamorous world of law enforcement but all the nastiness and corruption. We find out what drove Louis to alcoholism, a car accident left his wife in a semi-vegetative state and he has to take care of her. Marchal presents us a very realistic picture of the police force, where ego and testosterone make for a terrible combination. These cops rarely work as partners preferring to be each others' antagonists.

The movie is entertaining to see but there is a lot of room for improvement. Several parts of the pregnant woman's story are superfluous. A lot could have been improved via editing to make the movie shorter, tighter, to present these two stories in a more coherent and interesting way. There's only so much fun in watching a slow-mo train wreck unfold and Louis' life is an absolute wreck. I like Marchal's direction, it has a lot of style but is paced too slowly, this movie is more than 2 hours long and you feel every minute of it. I would have liked to see the serial killer story get more prominence, it ends too soon, meanwhile the woman's story is too drawn out, starting too early.