Le Grand pardon (1982) - film review

Raymond Bettoun is the head of a notorious Jewish pied-noir gangster family.  For years, Commissaire Douche has fought to bring him to justice – without success.  Bettoun’s ruthlessness is amply demonstrated when he arranges for a killer to escape from police custody, knowing full well that the killer’s first act will be to eliminate his only serious rival, Carreras.  Resentful of Bettoun’s power, one of his associates, Pascal Villars, decides to bring an end to his empire.  By driving a wedge between Arab and Jewish factions, Villars unleashes a blood bath which, in the end, only Bettoun can arrest.

Despite its lavish production values and an extraordinary cast, Le Grand pardon can only stand as a pale apology for a gangster film when set aside some of the better examples of the genre.  Roger Hanin’s portrayal of a gangland boss is pure caricature, as is much of the rambling plot and pitifully weak characterisation.  The film’s only saving grace is a chilling performance from Bernard Giraudeau as the story’s principal bad guy. Unfortunately, the film is just too long, too incoherent and too dull to be remotely enjoyable.  However, it is not quite so bad as its misfired sequel, Le Grand pardon II, which came ten years later.

© James Travers 2004

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