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.
© James Travers 1999
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next Mathieu Kassovitz film:
Les Rivières pourpres (2000)
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...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.