''Police'' is a 1985 French romantic neo noir

crime drama film In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

directed by

Maurice Pialat Maurice Pialat (; 31 August 1925 – 11 January 2003) was a French film director, screenwriter and actor known for the rigorous and unsentimental style of his films. His work is often described as " realist",

and starring Gérard Depardieu, Sophie Marceau, and

Sandrine Bonnaire Sandrine Bonnaire (; born 31 May 1967) is a French actress, film director and screenwriter who has appeared in more than 40 films. She won the César Award for Most Promising Actress for ''À Nos Amours'' (1983), the César Award for Best Actr ...

. Written by

Catherine Breillat Catherine Breillat (; born 13 July 1948) is a French filmmaker, novelist and professor of auteur cinema at the European Graduate School. In the film business for over 40 years, Catherine Breillat chooses to normalize previously taboo subjects ...

, the film is about a moody, jaded police detective investigating a drug ring who falls for a mysterious woman and is drawn into a shady and dangerous scheme. The film had 1,830,970 admissions in France.

Plot

In the Belleville district of Paris, the widowed Mangin is a cynical and tough police detective working to smash a drug ring of Tunisian brothers. He arrests and brutally interrogates Noria, the girlfriend of one of the gang who is in jail. Though she gives him no useful information, her beauty and her tears touch his heart. She agrees to go with him in a foursome to a disco. When another gang member is in hospital with knife wounds, he gives Noria the key to his hideout. There she finds a bag of money and heroin, which she removes. When the remaining gang members put heavy pressure on Noria, who denies all knowledge of the theft, she offers herself to Mangin. He is happy to accept her as a lover, even a partner, but says she will not live long if she does not gives back the cash and the drugs. She fetches the bag for Mangin, who takes it to the bar where the Tunisians hang out. They are delighted, promising to help him in return. Though he has done this to save Noria's life, and has declared his love for her, she leaves him.

Cast

* Gérard Depardieu as Louis Vincent Mangin * Sophie Marceau as Noria *

Richard Anconina Richard Anconina (; born 28 January 1953) is a French actor. He won the César Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1983, and for Best Actor in 1989. Filmography *1977 : ''Comment se faire réformer'' directed by Philippe Clair *1978 : ''Les Réfo ...

as Lambert * Pascale Rocard as Marie Vedret *

as Lydie * Frank Karoui as René * Jonathan Leïna as Simon *

Jacques Mathou Jacques Mathou is a French actor, best known for his appearance in ''Delicatessen''. Filmography * 1985 : '' Tranches de vie'' * 1986 : ''Betty Blue'', Bob * 1987 : ''L'été en pente douce'' * 1987 : '' Si le soleil ne revenait pas'' * 1989 : ' ...

as Gauthier * Bernard Fuzellier as Nez cassé * Bentahar Meaachou as Claude * Yann Dedet as Dédé * Artus de Penguern as Inspector

Accolades

The film was nominated for a César for Best Editing in 1986, as well as a Best Actor nomination for Depardieu. Depardieu also won the Award for Best Actor from the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...

in 1985 for his performance of the conflicted Mangin.

References

External links

* * {{Maurice Pialat 1985 films Neo-noir French neo-noir films French crime drama films 1980s French-language films Films directed by Maurice Pialat Romantic crime films