A few years before the Bac Nord electrocution, the director Cédric Jiménez set up his camera in Marseille for the purpose of a second feature film dedicated to the death of judge Pierre Michel, who was executed by the Marseille underworld in the middle of the rue de Marseille. October 21, 1981.
Although the first film was dedicated to this case in 1984 (Philippe Lefebvre’s Le Juge, although the characters’ names were changed), this second version saw the light of day thirty years later, called La French, in reference. for the French Union (the name given to the international drug trafficking network established in Marseille).
In this case, Cédric Jimenez decided to confront two holy monsters of modern cinema: Jean Dujardin as Judge Michel and Gilles Lelouch as Gatan Zampa, a high figure in the Marseilles underworld of the 70s.
A edgy thriller that was described as a French-style heat upon release (a reference to the Michael Mann film starring Robert De Niro and Al Pacino), La French was a hit when it hit theaters. 1.5 million viewers, but won only two César nominations for technical prizes: best set design and best costume.
Despite criticizing Judge Michel’s family for the film’s liberties with real facts, La French still did not stir up the kind of controversy that Bac Nord, Cédric Jiménez’s latest film, and whose next feature was dedicated to the November attacks. 13 – will be released in theaters on October 5.
Cédric Jiménez’s La French with Jean Dujardin and Gilles Lelouch is now available on Netflix.
Source: allocine
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
