Summary
A young French police inspector, Chrisptophe Vade, is assigned to investigate some mysterious
murders in a village in the Swiss Alps. His superior is a man named Thurston, who
uses some unorthodox methods to fight crime. Vade’s investigations lead him to a
wealthy industrialist, Gardella, a dangerous and powerful man…
Review
The central premise of the film – that the man investigating a serious crime should end
up distrusting his superior as much as the villains – is an interesting one. But,
despite a fairly good performance from Patrick Bruel, the idea just doesn’t seem to ring
true. From the first scene, Thurston immediately strikes us as a weirdo, and therefore
probably not to be trusted. Meanwhile, the villains remain villains, and pretty
nasty ones at that, throughout. Where is the moral dilemma that Inspector Vade faces?
Why doesn’t he just duck out of the case after the first five minutes? What keeps
him involved? The film is, however, very competently photographed.
© James Travers 2000
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© James Travers 2000
Write a review for this film...
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Useful links
- 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
- The most successful French films
- Great French filmmakers
Related links
- Other French films of the 1990s
- The best French films of the 1990s
- Other French crime-thrillers
- The best French crime-thrillers
- Biography and films of Michel Deville
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Credits
- Director: Michel Deville
- Script: Rosalinde Deville, based on a novel by Andrew Coburn
- Photo: Bernard Lutic
- Music: Dmitri Shostakovich
- Cast: Patrick Bruel (Christophe Vade), Jacques Dutronc (Gardella), Mathilda May (Jeanne Gardella), Sophie Broustal (Laura), Vernon Dobtcheff (Thurston), Bruce Myers (Scandurat), Joël Barbouth (Husquin), Christophe Brault (Blogett), Eric Da Silva (Roselli), Jean Dautremay (Deckler), Jocelyn-Clair Durvel (Blue), Hans Heinz Moser (Scotomacchia), Michael Pas (Nordixen), Bernard Waver (Silos), Benoît Magimel (Thomas), Joseph Malerba (Inspecteur Nolo)
- Country: France
- Language: French
- Runtime: 107 min
- Aka: Sweetheart
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Crime / Drama / Thriller






