Who's in It: Nathalie Baye, Jalil Lespert
The Basics: Talk about "keepin' it real." This French cop movie is exactly the opposite of what you'd expect from police onscreen. No big action sequences, no bitter, broken-down cops looking for redemption, no flamboyant villain. What you see is all the donut-time stuff that other movies don't bother showing you because they think it's meaningless. Those other movies are stupid.
What's the Deal? Not that nothing happens. There's a murder. But what this movie cares about is the clock-ticking on normal police work and observing how and why the badge-wearers do what they do. And they talk a lot. Because that's what they do in France.
Why I Like This Better Than Other Cop Movies I've Seen Lately: Because you don't get a neat ending. You get emotional stuff that goes deep — you just feel it in between the big events — and a "life goes on" feeling instead of Harrison Ford sending someone over a cliff.
If You Love French Movies: Here's where you've seen lead actor Nathalie Baye before: Venus Beauty Institute, An Affair of Love, The Return of Martin Guerre and in English in Catch Me If You Can.
For Fans Of: Prime Suspect, Hill Street Blues, shots of French exteriors, movies that thrive on being bleak.