La balance

Watched this last night - a belting French Cops and Robbers drama set among the Paris version of the flying squad. It opens with their main informant being murdered and they need replacement to get Mr Big.

They lean on a Dede (Philippe Léotard) a small time crook and pimp and his whore/girlfriend(Nathalie Baye) to persuade them to snitch on Messina.

They use threats,beatings - in fact anything to get a result. The cops are played in a very unsympathetic light - the're really thugs who bend the law to suit their ends.

Interestingly both Dede and Nicole are are much more attractive characters - he's her pimp but he loves her as she loves him. You really care about them as they are exploited by the cops who don't care what happens to them as long as they get their villian. There are car chases and shoot-outs aplenty but its the central relationship that lifts this above your average cop movie.

All the leads are well played and you hope things will work out for Dede and Nicloe but you know life isn't like that.

Not an obvious ending either and directed with an intesity by Bob Swaim who films it almost as a documentry so real is the gritty feel of the Parisian undwerworld.

Highly reccomended.

Somewhat in the tradition of literary realism, this is a police story with much drama and a hint of tragedy. When the determined police officer Palouzi (Berry)decides to get the mob boss in his district by replacing a blown up informer, his choice is a hooker, Nicole (N. Baye) and her pimp, Dédé (P. Léotard). Both are rather humane, likable and loyal to each other. Perhaps a bit of a cliché in the character Nicole. Palouzi will put ruthless pressure on them to get their reluctant collaboration. Given this scenario, things will be necessarily difficult for them. Very good performances of Berry, Baye and Léotard, and some violence scenes well staged and played. Interesting denouement with somewhat ambiguous (to me) ending. The character of the efficient, driven and street-wise officer Palouzi has interest and psychological depth. Maybe he will be devious and tough to make Nicole and Dédé to play his game, but also maybe he will try to keep them out of harm's way, if possible. In sum, no clear-cut heroes and villains, good story and script, good actors, intense action, credible ambiance, with some interesting characters.

I can't believe that this movie has no comments and hardly any votes. It's a tough 1982 thriller set in Paris' Algerian sector. A specialist Police Unit pressurise a pimp and his hooker into becoming informants to enable them to bring down a local gangster. Although directed by an American (spot the U.S. film posters at the Police Station), the film is full of French style. The clothes, the food, the shades... The pacing is fast, the plot is good and the characters are fascinating. Baye is incredibly sexy as the 'tart with a heart' and Leotard looks suitably seedy as the pimp in love with her. It's a strange relationship, letting your lover have sex with strangers in order to put money in the joint account! I also like the way that the cops, who arrest and harass hookers, are shown to be willing to use their services on lonely nights. Pace, excitement, black humour and romance. What more can one ask from a thriller? 8/10

I knew I was in for a treat when the crunchy new wave title track for "La balance" started playing, and the next 100 minutes didn't disappoint. I'm accustomed to French crime movies with a bit of an arty or philosophical bent, but this one is all pulp, all action. Proudly wearing its influences on its sleeve with several references to Steve McQueen, this will greatly appeal to fans of movies like "Bullitt" and "The French Connection." It must be said that the cops here are seriously ethically dubious: they're misogynistic, xenophobic and constantly pushing the limits of legality to get their man, but these aspects are presented matter-of-factly rather than in a purely glamorizing light.

Nathalie Baye is superb as always as a kind-hearted but guarded sex worker pushed into an informant role, but her character leans too heavily on cliché. More interesting is the smaller role of Galia Salimo, a trans actress who makes a major impression in her scenes as a local wheeler and dealer trading in stolen goods. This is a punchy, well-constructed crime tale that warrants another look.

A small time ex-con (Phillipe Leotard as Dede) and his prostitute girlfriend Nicole (Nathalie Baye) are relentlessly pressured by an aggressive and at time brutal police squad led by Mathias Palouzi (Richard Berry) to inform on the mob. Using any means necessary, playing one off against the other, humiliation, beatings, or threats, the couple is forced to become informants on underworld leader Roger Massina (Maurice Ronet). The love story is at the heart of the film, while the cops and crooks make up opposite ends, though they often employ similar means. Berry seems to flourish in the middle, beating up on Dede while playing a little softer with his girlfriend Nicole. A fast pace takes us whizzing through some great Paris locations, through a stagey looking though fairly impressive shootout on a crowded street, and several seedy dead end alleyways. Many of the underworld characterizations are terrific, and the classy soundtrack (especially the ending) is perfect for the mood.