A Noite do Dia 12

On the surface, this French Best Picture Cesar Award winner appears to be a straight police procedural about a case of a young woman brutally killed on her way home from a girl's night out. Dominik Moll's (WITH A FRIEND LIKE HARRY) adaption of Pauline Guera's non-fiction book about a true case changes the setting from Paris to Grenoble in the French Alps (Gilles Marchand collaborated with Moll on the script). Taking the story out of the hustle and bustle of the big city gives the movie more of an intimate flavor.

The two main cops on the case are a crusty older policeman Marceau (Bouli Lanners) and the younger new head of the squad, Yohan (Bastien Bouillon). The murder victim, Clara (Lula Cotton-Frapier), at first seems like a typical 21 year old - happy and well-liked. As the investigation continues they discover that she had a series of risky encounters with various guys. As more and more men are revealed, the more vexing the case becomes for instead of narrowing the potential pool of suspects, it widens them.

The frustration makes Marceau increasingly edgy. He is going through his own relationship issues and tarts to crack, lashing out at the potential killers. Yohan on the other hand, becomes more introspective, more intense. While many in the department and the public begin pointing the finger at the victim, Clara, Yohan feels more and more protective of the dead woman. It all increases his obsession with the case - and Clara's memory and reputation.

The decision to move the location to a smaller town is a wise one. Not only does it allow a more personal touch, it virtually eliminates the notion that it was some random killing as you would have in a metropolis like Paris. Everybody knows everyone in the area, but they seem oblivious about what secrets are happening all around them. Lanners and Bouillon are very good, as is Pauline Sereiys as Clara's best friend. Later on, two strong women characters, a Judge (Anouk Grinberg) and a fellow police officer (Mouna Soualem) enter the investigation and buttress Yohan's compulsion for the case.

NIGHT OF THE 12TH is a strong and disturbing drama. It may not satisfy those who want easy answers, but it realistically shows the frustrations inherent in police work and reality that justice isn't a guarantee for all.

A life is cruelly taken in the night, no opportunity to run, to flee, to flight, doused in something that is lit, the flames engulf, force to submit, while the killer watches on, they lose their fight. The police investigate, pursue their leads, turns out there's many might have done the evil deed, but the evidence is weak, no matter where or how they seek, the perpetrator's not been caught and remains free.

The frustrations of the police investigating the brutal murder of Clara are brought to light as they struggle to track down her killer. It's an engaging enough piece of filmmaking but I thought it just ran out of steam towards the end and you're left just as dissatisfied as the investigating officers at the conclusion.

French filmmakers are the kings of realistic cop films. Here's another story of a detective haunted by a difficult case. The resolution is spoiled in the very first credits, so the expectations are clearly set from the start. That doesn't make the investigation process any less interesting, with good characters, good dialogues and an enthralling pace that resembles the drifty focus of a detective working overtime.

It had me glued to the screen. Then, suddenly, after some timely reflections on male violence, several female characters appear out of nowhere and become the ones with the good ideas, the initiative, the answers, the ones in control of their emotions... it's not subtle at all. There are several allusions to the ineffective police work of male detectives specifically. At first it didn't bother me because the script is intelligent, on the whole, and not at all the usual Hollywood schmaltz, but this abrupt shift in content, tone and style is off-putting, the narrative becomes blatant, as if it was written by someone else. These scenes are added to the more or less fictionalised account of real events, I don't know, it certainly feels like something "added" to find a solution to the plot.

This does not affect the point they're making though, it's a strong one, presented here as in no other film I know of, with a case that speaks for itself. At the heart of the violence there is also a place for the police, and they're both full of men. It elevates the film, regardless of one's opinion on the late, abrupt loss of subtlety.

On the surface "La nuit du 12" is a raw, powerful police drama, but it's layered with many social topics that give it a special kind of depth. Although constantly focused on the main case (shocking and inexplicable by the way - the stuff that "real horror" is made of) the movie manages to raise some fundamental debates about human behavior, love, fear, marriage, domestic abuse, sense of duty, etc.

To me it feels kind of like "Roubaix, une lumière", but keeping a more general or "abstract" approach.

Based on a real case and the experiences of the French judicial police, the movie is raised to another level by some stellar performances from basically the entire cast, a very solid experience that leaves a mark on the viewer. Highly recommended!

This is a fictional interpretation of an actual crime that sees newly promoted "Vivés" (Bastien Bouillon) take his team of Grenoble detectives to a small town to investigate a grisly murder. Walking home from a friend's house the previous morning, "Clara" (Lula Cotton-Frapier) is confronted by a stranger who throws a combustible liquid over her and then sets her alight. What the Police Justiciare have to work with is a ghastly sight. Their investigations quickly reveal no shortage of potential attackers. This girl had lived a "lively" life - unbeknownst to her parents - and her boyfriends ranged from the nerdy to the opportunist to the downright bad boy "Caron" (Pierre Lottin). Thing is, loads of suspects don't add up to loads of evidence and tempers amongst the team begin to fray as their lack of actual progress becomes frustrating, exasperating and personal. Although this has elements of a whodunit to it, it is essentially quite an interesting "fly-on-the-wall" style drama that illustrates the difficulties faced by an under-resourced team of officers who cannot but become involved in the heinous crimes they must try to solve. This film looks quite intensely at their own personal relationships and is frequently peppered with some dark humour and with contrary views on the victim that occasionally make it difficult for an on form Bouillon to handle. Bouli Lanners is effective here as his passionate sidekick "Marceau" - himself having his own share of domestic disasters, and as the narrative pans out we, too, are offered nothing concrete in which to hope! I didn't love the ending scenarios. The casualness, desperation even, seemed to fly in the face of so much of their previously meticulous police-work, but the lead performance is good, the cinematography potent and this is definitely worth a watch.