Schwarzer Diamant

"Dark Inclusion" ("Diamant noir") is a masterful thriller that needs to be observed with attentive eyes and care, just as one of the main elements from its plot: diamonds. Arthur Harari's film is as polished and rare as such, carefully made but it's not for everyone's taste - those who can see through its details will find beauty and find some reward. It goes beyond the typical revenge thriller, with secrets from the past going back to surface as a young man tries to get even with the family that deserted him. It flies with many non-typical elements, very unexpected and peculiar from the get-go, but it all makes sense. Just accept the weirdness and some creepiness from its early minutes and you'll find something exquisite and potent.

With the recent passing of his dad, the young jewelry thief Pier (Niels Schneider) is embraced by distant relatives like his uncle (Hans Peter Cloos) and the family business of jewelries, that also includes his cousin (August Diehl). Truth is that Pier works on two fronts: the ideal where he can work with those folks, their new associates, since he has a keen eye for diamonds and knows how to navigate in that world of business - besides his criminal past working under a wise father figure (Hafed Benotman); but Pier also wants revenge due to a past situation that happened with his erratic father and the brother (the very first sequence of the film, impossible to forget). He wants to bring those rich folks down, and profit if possible so it's a quite obvious scenario that his old criminal mates will help him out.

Now, what comes next feels like a cliche yet Mr. Harari doesn't make it as such. Pier's cousin is engaged with a beautiful woman (Raphaële Godin) and one can see that a connection between both will happen. It does, but never like a Hollywood film would do. It's all done in an intelligent and sensitive manner - as there's a difficult situation revolving the cousin's health. And the main question: does Pier has what it takes in order to fulfill with a revenge? Could it be a case of killing people, or just ruin them where it hurts the most: wealth and power. He knows how to conceive plans; but can he embrace the darkness with a murderous desire? This duality is interesting to follow, as he slowly moves inside the family business, forms new partnerships in such a quality way that one may wonder why he doesn't ignore his vengeance acts and go legitimate in a world where he has a future.

A very intelligent film that doesn't simplify with its ideas and presentation, yet it doesn't make it inaccessible or difficult to follow. It simply demands a special attention to characters, reactions, situations and how the connect with each other, how they are solved or not. It doesn't fall into the usual trend of leaving everything in the open, there are plenty of solved situations, but it also leaves some room for audiences to question about little unanswered things.

And if there's another great attraction to everything it is through Niels Schneider's performance. Here, he's given a chance to disappear a little from the usual cute next door guy or the object of love and adoration of everybody - like he was in Xavier Dolan's "Heartbeats" - and reaches some darker modes, someone who can be seen as appealing at the same time he's out of radar as he's a criminal without many social contacts outside his mates, and new family. He doesn't play the heroic type we cheer at all times, he fails badly at one particular moment that almost risks his plan a great deal. But he's human, hard working when it comes to diamonds and even human relations to get what he wants, but he's not cold hearted enough to a bigger danger than stealing. Schneider navigates this character in such an unusual manner that it's hard not to care about him and his ideas of revenge - not to mention it's hard to imagine any other actor playing it. His scenes with his cousin's fiyancee are amazing as they slowly develop a bonding that you can actually believe it rather than typical cinema cliche of "man will fall in love with a beautiful woman and/or will find ways to be a homewrecker.

Hearing the premise of it all conquered me enough to watch it. But watching it, it's such a complete unique experience that blew my mind in all ways.

It's one of those small films that are destined to become one of those experiences you feel the need to share with anybody without regrets. 9/10.