Closing of Reims Polar 2024
On the evening of April 13, 2024 the various juries of Reims Polare 2024, the 4th International Crime Film Festival, have revealed the winners of the Competition and the New Blood Competition. Ideas, blood, laughter and fear flowed within the walls of the champagne capital of the world. And the bubbles in which the festival-goers were intoxicated were composed as much of light and lightness as of deep darkness.
On the motel streets of the Midwest, Blood for dust AND The last stop in Yuma County they play on the codes of a neo-noir in love with the 70s, each from one side of the field. The first, which interprets a dark realism with suffocating social material to tell the story of a man destroyed by a society devastated by the economic crisis and fallen back into banditry, the second, a joyful exercise in tension and massacre in a dinner of the Arizona desert, with a gallery of typical characters taken from a joyful fantasy B-movie.
And between these two competing American films, the best of international crime cinema was discovered, especially the French prison thriller Villagethe Israeli thriller at once luminous and sordid Highway 65the only – for now – revenge film by Adilkhan Yerzhanov and the Chinese policeman Only rivers flow.
Reims Polar winners
THE Grand Prix awarded by the jury composed of Danièle Thompson, Camille Chamoux, Laetitia Dosch, Caryl Férey, Noémie Lvovsky, Arnaud des Pallières and Nicolas Pariser, went to Highway 65by Israeli director Maya Dreifuss.
Highway 65 stands out from the competition for several reasons. Starting with the fact that it’s a real”detective film“, centered on a police officer caught up against all odds in a sordid and devious investigation. While most of the other films in competition explored the “detective” genre in a broad sense, focusing on other professions such as immersing oneself in the world of criminals, Highway 65 recounts the clarification of a disappearance that occurred in a small Israeli town where the investigator Daphna had been transferred from Tel Aviv.
With patient pacing and elongating sequences to paint a captivating and surprising portrait of a woman struggling against the overwhelming patriarchy of her Israeli society, Highway 65 is carried forward by the extraordinary performance of its brilliant lead actress Tali Sharon.
THE Jury Prize awarded Only rivers flow by Wei Shujun, already noticed at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, and Village by Stéphane Demoustier. The Chinese film, dark and sticky, offers a desperate look at the human soul but an interesting look at the reality of Chinese society, when in Village, on a less bitter and even sweet note, a “maton” lets himself be transported with a disturbing tenderness into Corsican banditry. A film that may seem too superficial, but which Hafsia Herzi’s always sunny and ideal performance places among the top among recent French crime films.
Adilkhan Yerzhanov at home
Three more prizes awarded. THE Police Awardawarded by a jury composed of police officers and leaders of the national police, it went to the German crime thriller Shock.
THE Audience Award went to American black comedy The last stop in Yuma Countyundoubtedly the film whose joy and action, unrelated to contemporary issues, most involved the spectators of Reims Polar 2024.
Finally, the Critics’ Awardcomposed of film critics, awarded the new film by a regular visitor to Reims Polar, steppe wolf by Adilkhan Yerzhanov. A presence for the third consecutive year Assault in 2022 and Goliath in 2023. He had already been awarded Assault of the Grand Prize and the Critics Prize in 2022, then the Jury Prize for Goliath. This year Adilkhan Yerzhanov receives recognition from the critical jury of Reims Polar, for his ruthless revenge film, set once again in the depths of a desert Kazakhstan where the law of the fittest reigns. The pair of protagonists, a former policeman turned torturer and a naive young woman, manage to bring out a unique emotion from the deluge of violence.
The New Blood Award
Finally, the New blood priceawarded by a jury composed of François Busnel, Céleste Brunnquell, Pablo Pauly, Linh-Dan Pham and Stéphane Foenkinos, was received by Stephan Komandarev for Blaga’s lessons. A surprising Bulgarian and German co-production that avoids the trap of its subject’s misery thanks to an astonishing staging.
Blaga, 70 years old, is a former teacher of great moral rigor. But when her swindlers steal the money she had saved for her husband’s grave, she gradually begins to lose her bearings between good and evil.
Blaga’s lessons arrives at the cinema May 8, 2024.
Source: Cine Serie
Ray Ortiz is a journalist at Gossipify, known for his coverage of trending news and current events. He is committed to providing readers with accurate and unbiased reporting, and is respected for his ability to keep readers informed on the latest news and issues.
