Directed by:
Mathieu KassovitzCinematography:
Thierry ArbogastComposer:
Bruno CoulaisCast:
Jean Reno, Vincent Cassel, Nadia Fares, Dominique Sanda, Karim Belkhadra, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Didier Flamand, François Levantal, Francine Bergé (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
Two criminal investigations. The same day, 300 km apart, two policemen are given two very particular cases. Pierre Niemans (Jean Reno) is a man of experience, who has an infallible instinct in criminal affairs but hides painful fears. He travels to Guernon, a university town in the Alps where a violent murder took place. Yougn, sharp, and loner Max Kerkerian (Vincent Cassel), a former car thief who entered the police force through a love of danger, is investigating a desecrated graveyard at Sarzac at night, and in particular the grave of a child who disappeared twenty years before. As clues bring them together, the two investigations crash head-on. And the murders grow in number. The truth will outdo all theories, taking the two policemen to high altitudes, caught between icy heights and death's door. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (10)
A perfectly dark atmosphere that can only be maintained until the evidence starts to emerge. Jean Reno and Vincent Cassel are great on their own, but even the chase with the killer through the apartment really tests your nerves. And yet as it starts to incorporate all the mystery elements everything starts to creak and groain, and after the snowy finale you end up with a bitter taste in your mouth.
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Awesome, and I regret putting this film off for so long. Crimson Rivers is a very intelligent, chilling and suspenseful thriller led by the excellent Jean Reno and Vincent Cassel. Those who like movies where the killer is only revealed at the end will not regret it. The resemblance to David Fincher's Se7en is almost palpable, but not offensive, instead competing strongly due to the very impressive treatment of the corpses. 80%
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I like the way the film works. The plot is clever and keeps you in suspense; there are shocking scenes, scenes that can really scare you. Neimans's fear of dogs is an interesting touch and makes the detective a human legend with flaws after all. What spoils the film is the somewhat rushed ending that relies too heavily on the point, to which some viewers will probably say: "Really? This again?" It might not sit well with everyone, but the film builds up to the finale correctly and is gripping in the way it should be.
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The subject matter is very enticing, the actors are excellent, the atmosphere is as sharp as a French guillotine for most of the time and, most importantly, the entire first half is the most stylish, chilling and impressive thriller since Fincher's Se7en. But, as much as the beginning thrilled me and the amazing atmosphere, together with the disgusting murders, burrowed deep under my skin, the second half, with its inconsistency and steep decline of creativity, made me feel like a little boy who has believed in Santa Claus all his childhood and finally learns that everything is completely different. Yet I might have forgiven everything if the filmmakers had come up with a quality and meaningful conclusion that would have put me back in the right mood and left me with my mouth open least as much as the great opening. Alas, what finally happened on the screen, I would like to cut it out of the film for good, burn it and throw the ashes into a lake somewhere, because it literally brought the whole thing and its strongly depressing atmosphere down a peg. I can't say that The Crimson Rivers a is a disappointment, but I'm very annoyed with how the filmmakers managed to screw up such a good film with such excellent actors. At least it showed once again how unmatched the aforementioned Se7en is in the genre.
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Kassovitz successfully conveys the dark atmosphere, and Reno and Cassel are charismatic enough to pull the whole film off just fine. But there are some moments, or rather, entire scenes that are so blatantly ripped-off of Se7en that it’s almost embarrassing. The ending is also contrived and full of clichés. It’s a pity, without that it would have been a very good thriller.
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Gallery (39)
Photo © TriStar Pictures
![The Crimson Rivers - Photos](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w663/files/images/film/photos/159/598/159598836_87da8e.jpg)
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