A Noite do Dia 12

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.

Dominik Moll's talent is no longer to be demonstrated. Only The Animals (2019) was an impressive film with its dramatic structure and rich story. Here with The Night Of The 12th, the dramatic line of the film is more direct, traditional. With a femicide, the investigation, the suspects, the cops and their problems. The film is embodied by its characters, that is to say by its actors who give the required forms, first of all, to the policemen with Bastien Bouillon all in power, Bouli Lanners rather in nominal mode (he makes the same character in many films), but also and especially the complementary actresses, all of them characters who exist and bring a lot of emotions in a natural way. This natural way gives a documentary patina to the film, which we imagine well documented.

The tone of the film, all in objective description of the reality and emphasizing the human nature, is what makes the film exciting in spite of its subject, dark, just like the photography of the film. In particular this photography is dark and grainy. It embodies the climate, the darkness, the horrific fact, and the dark story, especially in the content of the end and the frantic search for the culprit very difficult to identify.

The crime film is dramatic, as is this story when we learn how this story ends. Moreover, one of the challenges of the film is to revive it with the character of the judge played by Anouk Grinberg. A character that did not exist before in the film, but that makes it even more hypnotic.

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 movie follows a police crew trying to figure out a gruesome murder that happens for no obvious reason or motive.

The build up and atmosphere are great, keeping us engaged and wondering - who killed that young, charismatic girl? Acting is superb and the suspense keeps you on your toes till the very end with a climax that is adequate and realistic.

I am doing my best not to give away the whole plot or the ending so I'll just leave it at that.

Really worth checking out.

9 out of 10 from me.

We have a typical murder mystery underway but leads run cold and so does the story.

Instead of taking the story up and into new directions or at least with some progression, it becomes bogged down in it's own meandering pacing. It's as though the film dies halfway through.

What's really irksome is that modern American moralizing has now reached Europe. What the entertainment consistently fails to address is that on average, 70% of homicide victims are male.

One character says, 'There is something wrong between men and women.' No, there is something wrong with lazy, uneducated scriptwriters who tell stories based on impressions and clichés rather than doing any simple research into crime statistics.

It continues on throughout the second half of the film, which is the same area where the pacing becomes overly sluggish. The 'messaging' overrides the story and the journey of the characters. Very disappointing.

Europe has largely avoided American style clichés, but this is not a good sign. Please be more original. Black Box was an excellent recent French film, as an example. Europeans have long done their own thing. May it continue. Please.