Poliziotto o canaglia

'Flic ou voyou' (English title is 'Cop or Hood') made in 1979 by Georges Lautner is first and foremost a Belmondo movie. The screenplay (adaptation of a novel, with dialogues written by Michel Audiard) is written with the goal to put the main hero into action with his physical qualities, charm, courage, humor and womanising success. In this kind of movies one of the dangers is that we, as spectators, begin to believe in the invincibility of the hero, so even when he is in desperate situations we do not worry too much because all chances are that everything will end well. Credibility and attention to detail are not necessarily the number one priority in such films. These traps are not completely avoided in 'Flic ou voyou' either, but in addition to the presence of Belmondo, who was in his heyday in those years, the film has many qualities that make it pass the watching pleasure exam more than honourably, more than 40 years after its launching on screens.

Jean-Paul Belmondo is in this film the commissioner Stanislas Borovitz from the 'police of the polices', i.e. The internal investigation service of the French police. The Parisian policeman - disguised as the criminal Antonio Cerutti - is investigating the death of a police inspector involved in a corruption case in which the two gangs of gangsters who control the underworld business in Nice are involved. The road to exposing corrupt cops is littered with numerous corpses, gun duels, car chases, kidnappings, but especially with humor and a few sentimental episodes, because our hero is both divorced and a great lover of romantic adventures. When his teenage daughter appears in the story, things get even more complicated.

The plot - as compelling as it is incredible - should not be taken too seriously. The whole story is built around the character or characters played by Belmondo and to put the famous actor and his heroes in value. What gives quality to this film compared to many other films of this kind (even among others that Belmondo as the protagonist) are the dialogues and situations of comic action imagined by Michel Audiard, smart editing, and especially the participation of a formidable team of supporting actors, who give every role, no matter how small, charm and personality. Connoisseurs and enthusiasts of French cinema will recognise many figures and put their name next to each and every one, and I almost feel that I am doing an injustice by not listing everyone, and only Michel Audiard and Marie Marie Laforet. Everyone plays with obvious pleasure and charm and they perfectly complement Belmondo, making watching 'Flic ou voyou' a recommended watching experience despite the years passed since its release.