Assassin(s) (1997)
Directed by Mathieu Kassovitz

Film Review

Director Mathieu Kassovitz followed his acclaimed second feature La Haine (1995) with this equally bleak reflection on society's blithe acceptance of violence, both in real life and as a form of entertainment. This time Kassovitz (a more than capable actor) appears on screen as a character similar to one he had already played in Jacques Audiard's Regarde les hommes tomber (1994). No doubt bouyed up by the international success of his earlier urban drama, Kassovitz directs his film with increased verve, imagination and ambition, and already we can see the blockbusters that he would later go on to make in France and America, beginning with his gory action-thriller Les Rivières pourpres (2000). Kassovitz is well-served by his lead actor, Michel Serrault, who is chillingly convincing as a time-worn professional killer - you would hardly recognise him as the camp Albin from La Cage aux folles (1979).

Like La Haine, Assassin(s) is a film that is hardly subtle about its political and moral messages. It appears to be pretty damning in its assessment of the degree to which film and television can distort our sense of reality and erode our moral values. Television sets are ubiquitous throughout the film, a malign, corrupting presence that seems to be turning us all into potential killers, or at least desensitising us to violence and the suffering of others. Admittedly, the film doesn't have the sustained brilliance of Kassovitz's previous film, and it seems to be a little too conscious of its own artistry in a few scenes, but it makes its point powerfully. Violence on television may not turn us all into hired assassins, but it does affect us, and in ways we perhaps hardly notice - and that's the scary thing.

Film Synopsis

Monsieur Wagner is a professional hitman who loves his job but now he has to accept he is too old to continue in this line of work.  What he dearly wants is an apprentice, someone who can benefit from his years of experience.  He believes he has the perfect candidate in Max, a young and hopelessly inept burglar he finds in his apartment one day.  A social misfit, Max ought to be well-suited for the job, but he just has no enthusiasm for it.  He has too much of a conscience.  Fortunately the same cannot be said of Max's teenage friend Mehdi, who proves to be a most apt pupil...