Leofwine_draca THE CONNECTION is a gritty slice of French crime which, as the title would suggest, is based on much the same story as the famous FRENCH CONNECTION by William Friedkin. The story follows a dedicated judge who makes it his business to bring down a heroin kingpin, played by the excellent Giles Lellouche, an actor I better known playing the hero in the likes of POINT BLANK and MEA CULPA. This is a downbeat film full of sudden bursts of violence and a very fast pace so that you never get bored by the familiarity of the genre ingredients. It's also gritty and realistic, and has a good balance between character relationships, plot, and breakneck thrills. It might not be the most original film out there, but it's a film which achieves what it seeks to do, and it's a solid, engaging achievement.

morrison-dylan-fan Finishing the last ep of the very good Sci-Fi Noir series Fortitude,I got set to catch up on movie viewings. Taking a look at titles about to leave Netflix UK,I was surprised to see a "serious" movie starring The Artist actor Jean Dujardin,which led to me making the connection.The plot-1970s Marseille:Calling themselves "La French" the gang led by Gaètan Tany Zampa becomes a major exporter of heroin into New York,which leads to US police going after the French Connection. Transferred to an organised crime unit, Former Juvenile Court judge Pierre Michel finds the gang to be running rings round the department. Getting info of the gang from a teen addict,Michel sets his sights on cutting the "octopus' arms" of Zampa,and discovers that this octopus will not lets its connections be cut easily,when the informant teen is found murdered.View on the film:Following the other side of the investigation not shown in The French Connection,co-writer/(with Audrey Diwan) director Cédric Jimenez & cinematographer Laurent Tangy get into the spirit of things with the Gaumont 70's logo being used,and followed with sharp-suits,smoke- filled police stations, changing surveillance tech,neon disco lights and short,blunt shots of violence. Untangling each La French octopus arm, Jimenez stylishly uses hand-held (but not shaky cam) camera moves to give the title a gritty,Noir documentary appearance,as Jimenez keeps up with the cops finding hideouts in the rugged countryside.Pushing his fellow cops to get results,the screenplay by Jimenez and Diwan tensely place all the pressure on Noir rebel Michel,which sets the fuse for abrupt exchanges with Michel and his family,as he becomes consumed with breaking the French Connection. Initially outsmarting the police at every turn,the writers give Zampa a delicious smugness,which melts away as Zampa's ice cool confidence turns to doubt. "Ripped from the headlines" the writers give the across the years' war between Michel and Zampa a superb urgency,where each setback sends the other one off the rails.Not being in the mood to take Uggie (RIP) for walkies, Jean Dujardin gives a fantastic performance as Michel,whose Noir obsession to capture Zampa crackles with a simmering thirst for justice from Dujardin. Dancing without a care in the world in his discos, Gilles Lellouche gives an excellent performance as Zampa,whose calm shell Lellouche chips away to reveal a sharp viciousness,as the connection is made.

akupm The must use adjectives are thrilling and mind blowing. Seriously, the motion picture directed and written by Cédric Jimenez was emotionally heavy. The movie was inspired by true events set in the 1970s. It was about a Neapolitan Mafia Boss Tanny Zampa who ran a French extortion gang in Marseille, France. The Kingpin and his mob later exploded into 'The Connection'. It meant heroin purchased from Turkey being flood into New York by the French Mafia. What stood in their way was dedicated detective Pierre Michel who raged bloody war against their money laundering Empire.In addition, this action packed Noir was set in Marseille, France. I loved how the opening scene exposed a landscape filled with historical buildings, palm trees, straight roads and the sea that reflected blue from the sky. The vibrating and aggressive sound from the motorbike gave the picture a dramatic sound. Expressive music which featured a woman singing her heart out gave a lovely mood. The song was Jerome sang by Lykke Li. Bang! Bang! Bullets flashed at a car driver on the streets. Hit men on motorbike were like characters from a western movie shooting down their victim. The act created a contrast from beautiful to horrendous.What is more, the tense violence gave the film justice. It empathised the horrors of the French Mafia who imported tons of heroin from Turkey to France and New York City. The pace was very fast. It demonstrated how society was corrupt by dangerous mobsters who rhymed with monsters. The viciousness contained scenes of Zampa and his henchmen killing those who did not pay up protection rackets. The shootings would be extremely loud and bloody. Graphic tortures was like a rakish rhythm in the content. It showed how evil bloodbaths were. There are media reports of President Nixon declaring war against drugs. This showed what impact on drug affairs did on lives.Moreover, Tanny Zampa was like a black and white painting. He loved his family and destroyed his enemies. He owned a fabulous club in Marseille. The dedicated detective Pierre Michel was hungry to bring an end to 'The Connection'. Pierre went to the extent in taking the law into his own hands to expose his patriotic nature. The two main contrasting characters had their glorious rise and tragic downfalls.To add, a scene which I also liked the most was when Tanny and his thugs interrogated their extortion victim. The sufferer was strapped to a chair. He wore his fabulous tuxedo. The room had silver walls. The scene played classic disco music which empathised disturbing psychology on mobsters killing legit people who did not pay up protection rackets. A gunned down casino owner. Left to bleed in a car park in broad day light. Tanny and his boys walked off like it just was business nothing personal.To carry on, the visualisation had some glimpse shots, fast forwarding and an expression in chiaroscuro. The film looked like a production from the 1970s. This helped empathise the time period. Laurent Tangy as the cinematographer expressed the contrast between light and shade. It resulted to the picture having a dark and light atmosphere. From urban to a reveal location, the lighting exposed the two different worlds. In Tanny's nightclub the cinematographer strengthen the shade and exaggerated the lighting. The high saturation was the icing on the cake. The camera shots in the French picture had long distance shots, up right footages and birds eye view. This implied the importance of society.As a continuation, soundtrack included an orchestra, disco music and electronic. The sound effects in the film created a tense tone. It backed up how 'The Connection' had a negative effect on Marseille and New York. The emotionally heavy orchestra which was played in the end implied the tragic downfalls of the two opposing characters. Detective Pierre was shot and left to death in his neighbourhood. Crime Boss Tanny was finally arrested as his Empire crumbled.For the story itself, all I can say is that it was about time to have a cinematic film about the rise and the downfall of the French heroin connection based in the 1970s. Watching the same old Sopranos could not compete with this breed of Gangsterism due to the fact that 'The Connection' focused on the sociological theme. The content was unique, because I was getting bored watching the same old Italian wise guys like 'Goodfellas', 'Mean Streets' and 'The Sopranos.' Those three titles do not go into political depth. Cinema needs more genres which are so different.All in all, I give this film a solid……………….. 8/10.

geoced The trailer got me really interested, especially because it seemed to promise a fierce duel between Dujardin & Lellouche, not unlike the memorable Al Pacino/De Niro duel in "Heat", which I still consider to be the absolute best gangster movie ever! Well, it didn't really deliver on those promises... Dujardin was great as a relentless judge, but unfortunately I thought that Lellouche lacked the kind of machismo and presence that would have made him a strong opponent to Dujardin. He wasn't convincing as a feared and respected drug kingpin. Without what should have been its strongest point, the film fails to keep us interested, mainly because of its uninspired plot and dialogs as well as its length. Because of all this, "La French" feels like a missed opportunity. Too bad, I really wanted to love this one! If you wanna watch a great french gangster movie, I recommend "L'immortel" or "Truands". 6/10