Les Patriotes (1994)
Directed by Eric Rochant

Film Review

Eric Rochant's film career got off to a stunning start in 1989 with his first feature, Un monde sans pitié, which was both a commercial and critical success and instantly marked Rochant out as one of the most promising young auteur filmmakers of his generation.  His next film Aux yeux du monde was also well-received, but with his third feature, Les Patriotes, the public and critical reappraisal was swift and brutal.  A big budget thriller-drama revolving around the morally dubious activities of Israel's intelligence agency, Mossad, in the 1980s, the film was a spectacular flop, and effectively put the kibosh on a promising filmmaking career, a misfire from which Rochant has yet to fully recover. 

Following the film's dismal reception at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival, it struggled to find an audience and was savaged by the critics - to a degree that now seems wholly unjustifiable.  Les Patriotes is a slick modern thriller that has a chilling near-documentary realism, achieved through some inspired direction and some very creditable performances from a fine cast headed by Yvan Attal, who delivers what is arguably is best screen performance to date.  Sandrine Kiberlain was nominated for the Most Promising Actress César in 1995 for her contribution, and there are equally convincing turns from an ensemble that includes Bernard Le Coq, Hippolyte Girardot, Maurice Bénichou and Emmanuelle Devos.

It seems likely that sensitivity over condemnation of Israel's security methods (some of which are on a par with those employed by the CIA and the Kremlin at the time) was one reason why Les Patriotes fell on such stony ground.  The film does not shy away from presenting the gruesome reality of modern day espionage, including the betrayals and ruthlessness employed in the pursuit of morally suspect aims.  If there is one Eric Rochant film that deserve to be favourably reappraised this is it - a gritty, no-nonsense foray into the shadow world of skulduggery and manipulation in which all the major world powers willingly participate.

Film Synopsis

Immediately after turning 18, Ariel Brenner, a Parisian Jew, leaves his comfortable middleclass home and family in France and sets out for Israel, to live in a kibbutz.  It proves to be a life-changing departure, because within a short time he is recruited by Mossad, the Israeli secret service, to work as an intelligence agent.  Ariel willingly submits to four gruelling years of intensive training, at the end of which he is equipped to take on his first assignment.  He is sent back to the French capital with the task of corrupting a man implicated in the sale of nuclear energy technology to the Middle East. The mission does not end as intended, whereupon Ariel comes into contact with Jeremy Pelman, an American secret services operative, who, because of his Jewish background, is honour-bound to support Mossad.  It is the betrayal of Pelman at the hands of his Israeli employers that prompts Ariel to reassess his career decisions.  He now finds he can no longer dedicate himself to a cause that he cannot believe in...