Bras de fer

1943:Pierre Wagnies alias Augustin ,is given an important job to do by the English secret service:a mission,the purpose of which he ignores ,actually intended to make the Germans believe the landings are to take place in the Pas De Calais ;in Paris,he 's got to get in touch with the man who will be his chief and will give him,at the required moment , an order he will have to carry out ,whatever sacrifice may prove necessary.This man is none other than Delancourt ,his childhood friend ,who married Camille ,the woman both chums loved .

The screenplay is melodramatic ,blending male friendship,cocaine addiction,betrayal and amorous rivalry.Fortunately , both actors are excellent:the sadly missed Bernard Giraudeau ,ideally cast as the cynical Delancourt and Christophe Malavoy ,as the resistant sometimes overtaken by the events who does not know what his friend is playing at,give convincing performances .

Gerard Vergez would cast Malavoy in his follow-up " Deux Minutes De Soleil En Plus" but you'd better stick with "Bras De Fer" (arm- wrestling).