Na Próxima, Acerto o Coração

This French serial killer movie is based on fact but an intertitle at the start tells us that it is also a work of 'imagination'. It's the kind of film the Americans do better but it has a clammy quality nevertheless and revealing the killer in the opening minutes actually adds to the tension and it's well acted and it's well directed by Cedric Anger. For reasons that will become clear very early on it concentrates very much on the police investigation while at the same time giving us a good, detailed psychological portrait of the killer. Unfortunately the film doesn't appear to have had much of a distribution so it's very possible it passed you by.

There is no denying the fact that much has been written about serial killers in press especially in the print media. However, when it comes to depicting their crimes and shady lives, cinema has not been able to achieve considerable success. It might be due to the fact the cinema glamorizes their images to such a large extent that it is difficult to sift fact from fiction. French film "La Prochaine Fois Je Viserai Le Coeur" is about a unique serial killer. He is one of those rare serial killers who would flagellate himself in order to repent for crimes committed. One doesn't come across such exemplary behavior from most serial killers. French director Cedric Anger gives a detailed description of a police man (serial killer)'s failed romantic relationship with a married woman. However, his film does not answer numerous questions which begin with a big "Why" of all murders which were the handiwork of a police man. The film starts with an important disclaimer. It states : "This film is based on one of the most strange French criminal stories. The facts described here are, for a large extent, taken from official documents, statements and talks with concerned people". It doesn't prevent anybody from putting a question mark on French gendarmerie's ability to detect that something was wrong within their ranks. Next Time I'll Aim for the Heart is not an entertainment film Per Se despite its strong French box office figures of 490,537 tickets sold. Hence, it needs to be watched for the crucial role it is playing in letting the society know about the patterns of a serial killer.

Intelligent, frosty character study of a French serial killer of young girls, based on a real case from the 1970s. The super dark anti-hero is played with great subtlety by Guillaume Canet, and the film is very well shot.

But there's a last layer missing that keeps this from going from a very good film to a great one. As much as it's always interesting, and sometimes even heartbreaking, there's a lack of larger theme or context that keeps this confined to being a thriller/character study - if a very intelligent and thoughtful one - and not the rare film that transcends into something even larger.

But it's still very worth seeing as a study of a brilliant but tortured man compelled to horrible violence, and on 2nd viewing I found it a more powerful and emotional experience, catching details and moments I missed the first time around.

Original French title for this film is "La prochaine fois je viserai le coeur". It is based upon the real events that took place in 1978 - 79 in Oise County in France. A serial killer just starts killing young women and dumping their bodies. He then sends taunting letters to both the Police and their Gendarme cousins (separate departments). That is when the hunt is on. We know from pretty early on who the culprit is and so this is more of an examination of who this man was and what were his motives as well as a recreation of what took place.

The film plays out in a linear fashion with no back story and the makers have said they have had to use a lot of imagination and even supposition to fill those blanks in. So it is a work of fiction. Guillaume Canet ('Tell No-one') as the exemplar Gendarme with sociological issues is both chilling and convincing. The period detail is rather good but the eagle eyed amongst you will spot the same cars being used in different scenes (keep an eye out for a Triumph Herald) and as plot goes this does not hang about. As all thrillers need to be it is fast paced, there is an air of tension and the violence is both effective and at the same time done in an understated way.

All in all a very good French film - the subs could have been better - but that is generally the case these days. That said even at 111 minutes this felt like a much shorter film and as such it is one I would recommend.

It's winter 1978. French national police gendarme officer Franck Neuhart is a serial killer. He runs down Alice with his car and shots her three times. She survives and Franck writes in a letter to the police vowing "Next Time I'll Aim for the Heart". He starts hunting for young female hitchhikers.

There is a missed opportunity. Otherwise, this is a solid character study of a serial killer. Guillaume Canet plays it like a calm, nice guy. He's not out of control other than the killings. I like that he's messy killer. It's not another one of those precise serial killer TV shows. There is a horror to how normal Franck seems to be until he's alone with the girls. The missed opportunity is the lack of mystery. It could have kept the killer's identity a secret until a surprise midway reveal. Without that mystery, there is a lack of tension early in the movie. It takes a little while for the story to pick up steam. This is a good performance although the movie could have been more exciting.