Film Review
Most police films are geared around a strong central plot and often resort to extreme
violence or improbable scenarios to create interest value. Tavernier's film
L.627
is a police film, but it is nothing like that. In this film, Tavernier deliberately
sets out to create a film which reflects, as accurately as possible, the true day-to-day
life of French policemen, albeit in one of the most dangerous and dramatic areas of police
work. To a great extent, L.627 resembles a docu-soap, but not the kind of sanitised
nonsense which we are more familiar with. We see brutality - in both the criminals
and in the police. We see betrayal, distrust, anger - and guilt. This is no
fiction. This is real life.
The lack of a strong plot for such a lengthy film is something of a problem, though.
Far too often you have the feeling that you are standing around waiting for something
to happen. Of course, this is probably an accurate reflection of the job of a police
investigator - a lot of hanging around, punctuated by sporadic, random bursts of intense
activity. This would certainly deter many people from watching this film.
However, as an uncompromisingly honest and unsensationalised depiction of life in the
police service, the film has great merit and is worth watching, if only as an educational
experience.
© James Travers 2001
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Next Bertrand Tavernier film:
La Guerre sans nom (1992)
Film Synopsis
Lucien Marguet is a committed cop who gets on the wrong side of his superiors
when he voices his dissatisfaction with the rigid set of procedures he is
expected to abide by in the pursuit of his duties, procedures that, in
his opinion, render the police complacent and ineffective. When a police
raid goes awry, Lucien finds himself unceremoniously shunted to another department,
one that is dedicated to tracking down and arresting drugs traffickers.
Once again, Lucien is frustrated by the lack of resources at his disposal,
so he begins using his own initiative to make things easier for himself.
He puts his amateur filmmaking skills to good use, filming dealers without
them knowing to help bring about their conviction. But Lucien's superiors
have none of his zeal and seem to be content with chasing after small fry
instead of the big drugs barons. In the course of his work, Lucien
comes to sympathise with a prostitute, Cécile, whose life has been
all but destroyed by her drug addiction. The scale of the drugs problem
and the unwillingness of the police to tackle it seriously soon begin to
take their toll on Lucien, but he perseveres, even though his relationships
with his colleagues and his wife are coming under an intolerable strain...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.