sergepesic I am not surprised that quite a few of the movie watchers have hard time with this flick. If you are addicted to car chases, random explosions and endless and mindless entertainment, this is definitely not the right movie for you. I, myself can't abide Hollywood garbage. So, I reach out to the rest of the world for quality art movies." The Young Lieutenant" is a perfect little gem of a movie. Even without all the obvious staples of the genre, there is more power and emotion in every single scene than in all of the stupid, badly written, computer generated Hollywood excuses for a movie together. Great actors and strong raw feelings and life as it is, without adornment. I am happy with that.

gradyharp Director Xavier Beauvois, with the intelligent and sensitive script he co-wrote with Cédric Anger, Guillaume Bréaud and Jean-Eric Troubat, allows us, the viewers, to look inside the minds and lives of those people who commit to police work in a manner that pays homage to a maligned group and reinstates our visceral support to the spectrum of on the edge terror mixed with spaces of ennui that these people endure. LA PETIT LIEUTENANT is not a crime film: it is a deeply touching inside view of the men and women who protect us.Opening with well-staged Le Havre Police Academy graduation images Beauvois focuses on newly graduated Antoine Derouère (Jalil Lespert) as he says goodbye to his family and his wife Julie (Bérangère Allaux), a school teacher who pleads with Antoine not to leave Le Havre for Paris, the destination Antoine seeks to prove his desire for an active detective career. The kind but inexperienced Antoine takes up residence in Paris and is assigned to a homicide unit with equally inexperienced young men who learn the ropes of owning a gun, the embarrassment of performance problems at the shooting range, the awkward first 'arrests' and interrogations, and the endless hours of sitting at a desk waiting for activity. Newly assigned as the head of Antoine's unit is Commandant Caroline Vaudieu (the extraordinary actress Nathalie Baye) who has just come off a two year sabbatical to recover from alcoholism and the associated death of her son from meningitis. The manner in which these people bond is quiet and sensitive and when finally a case comes to their attention - a man found dead in the canal - the force joins begins what they all need to do: the killer must be found.Clues are explored, people are traced, and Antoine and Vandieu form a particularly close bond, Antoine reminding Vandieu of the son she has lost and Vandieu providing the model for his career. Tension mounts as the criminals are pursued, coincidences occur and a tragedy cracks the bond of the group, affecting each member of the small force immeasurably. It is this very human happening and its effects that wind the movie down to moments of painful acceptance of the life of police people.The entire cast is first rate and provides ensemble acting that is among the finest on screen. But the portrayal by Nathalie Baye is so multifaceted, embracing the inner trauma of personal losses not only of those she loves but also of her own sense of dignity as she faithfully attends AA meetings, that her performance is triumphant. Jalil Lespert also captures the fine line between innocence and experience that makes his portrait of a new detective not only completely credible but also one that leaves a mark on the heart. The direction and the cinematography by Caroline Champetier keep the film nearly monochromatic, the only color that is left to shock us for a brief moment is the red blood at moments of tension. And the lack of a musical score keeps the tone of the humanity of the film intact, never reducing it to a bombastic Hollywood chase and kill film. This is a little jewel of a film that deserves a very wide audience. Highly Recommended. In French, Polish, and Russian with English subtitles. Grady Harp

geoffreydeloncle2 As in previous Beauvois' movies, this film is about loss. The loss is everywhere in the movie : the loss of the dead child of the main female character, the loss of a normal couple life for the "petit lieutenant" and, finally, his loss. What makes the movie so interesting is the way in which it uses the form of the cope movie (film noir) as a way to reflect the hardships of living with the memory of the dead, to go on while things are forever changed by their disappearance. At the same time, the form of the cope movie is more than a mere pretext: the director is very much at ease with the conventions of the genre and is very skillful at going beyond by adding stunning realistic elements. There is no heroism there, only gloom and despair. No big man hunt, but a very trivial one. A very good movie. A must see for lovers of french film noir.

GORET1 Of the check french cinema - a realism rarely seen in the cinema and a magnificent composition in particular Nathalie BAYE. The reality of the young provincial cop arriving in capital is striking of truth. We suffer from these stabs and we curse this youth which take this young cop towards his loss. That feels(smells) the INNKEEPER in L627... He(it) is striking of the truth considers. Bravo to the director and has his comedians. To see to understand(include) cop's realité!!! The motivations of this young policeman make can be dumped but very often have entrainé the vocation has numerous policemen.. Quotation blasé person of these colleagues experimented are just(right) and nevertheless law of caricatures usually conveyed. The Arabic cop who malgrè its speech in the meal of integrated policeman does not ring as the truth and the proof made it when he pushes aside(knocks down) l former(ancient) who treats him as Bicot towards the end of the film, denoting that everything is far from being a pink and this film evite this kind(genre) of cliché(picture) with correctness. The final silence Or we have l impression(printing) that Nathalie Baye wishes to speak to us is just bluffing has new. Anything n left at random and has to wonder how the realizer was so well able to make apparaitre the threads of this inequitable and thankless job.. The sink of The Seine linked with the grey of this history which never sinks into the every white or every Black