Summary
When she fails to get a potentially lucrative work placement, Diane, a
language student, is offered another kind of job by Alex, the father of
her friend Jeremy. Alex is head of France’s counter-terrorist
department and sees that Diane has the potential to make a good
agent. Meanwhile, petty crook Pierre falls under the influence of
Aziz, an Islamist fanatic who believes that terrorism is a legitimate
means to achieve his objectives. The destinies of Diane and
Pierre are about to become inextricably linked...
Review
Secret défense starts
from an interesting premise - to show how the techniques employed by
Islamic terrorists to recruit and train their warriors
are mirrored by those of the national security services - it
falls down massively in the execution. Too slavishly enamoured of
the latest species of Hollywood action blockbuster, director Philippe
Haïm delivers a punchy, visually striking film that is all but
lacking in substance. This is clearly not the same
Haïm that previously brought us the idiosyncratic black comedy Barracuda
(1997) and the live-action Lucky Luke fiasco Les Dalton (2004). Secret défense is formulaic,
soulless and of interest only to those who derive a gutless
satisfaction from watching mindless spectacles of violence. Had
more effort gone into the screenwriting, had Haïm shown more
restraint in his offputtingly showy mise-en-scène (most of the
film was shot with hand-held-cameras, and it shows) and avoided the
needlessly frenetic editing, had the actors been invited to tone down
their performances, then this may have been something worth
watching. As it is, it is just another shallow, self-indulgent
action fest, clichéd to death and completely lacking in
characterisation and narrative focus.
© filmsdefrance.com 2011
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© filmsdefrance.com 2011
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- Best French films of 2011
- Best French films of the 2000s
- Best of the French New Wave
- Best of French film comedy
- The best 100 French films
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- Great French filmmakers
Related links
- The best French thrillers
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- The best French films of the 2000s
- Other French thrillers
- Biography and films of Philippe Haïm
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Credits
- Director: Philippe Haïm
- Script: Nathalie Carter, Philippe Haïm
- Photo: Jérôme Alméras
- Music: Alexandre Azaria
- Cast: Gérard Lanvin (Alex), Vahina Giocante (Diane), Nicolas Duvauchelle (Pierre), Mehdi Nebbou (Ahmed), Rachida Brakni (Leïla), Simon Abkarian (Al Barad), Aurélien Wiik (Jérémy), Katia Lewkowicz (Aline), Kamel Belghazi (Aziz), Djemel Barek (Khaled), Carim Messalti (Hajj), Hassam Ghancy (Danar), Nicolas Marié (Fouche), Salem Kali (Salem), Moussa Maaskri (Slim), Saïd Amadis (Client Lisa), Catherine Hiegel (La mère de Pierre), Jil Milan (Homme S.A.), Asil Raïs (Quayim), Anatole Taubman (Daniel), Bertrand Combe (Directeur de la recherche), Bertrand Liebert (Directeur des opérations), Gérard Lecaillon (Directeur du renseignement), Emmanuel Vieilly (Homme C.E.M.P.), Jérôme Bertin (Conseille Premier Ministre), Reda Samoudi (Professeur Langues Orientales)
- Country: France
- Language: French
- Runtime: 100 min
- Aka: Secret Defence
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