Close Enemies

An authentic film noir from France as I crave for. Pulled by two promising actors: Mathias Schoendoerts, who has the perfect hoodlum face, lost man who faces his doomed destiny; and Reda Kateb, who is not used to crime movies, rather dramas. One of these men is a cop, the other a gangster. Both grew together. The last seconds are so powerful, so poignant. A pure fist in the face. A kind of MANHATTAN MELODRAMA scheme,the 1936 MGM production starring Clark Gable and William Powell.

An interesting story, extremely well filmed, subtly showing the relationships and motivations of friends and family of some drug dealers in Paris. Surprisingly, many of the characters are likeable, despite their profession and behaviour, and the director keeps the pace moving by never allowing the viewer to choose sides. The story takes place within a 48-hour time period, lending a more frantic air to an already difficult situation. Great camera work and a lack of background music give the actors room to shine. Several scenes in the film allude to the situation at hand, characters speak as if the other person knows what they are talking about, just as in real life. Because, at times, the viewer is not clear, information has to be held on to, and meaning and impact become clear later. This is especially true of the ending. While there is plenty of action, and unpleasantly realistic at times, the film's strength is the pacing and subtle reveals.

I agree with most of the other reviews here. This is an outstanding film and has everything you'd want from a French crime thriller. Very powerful performances by by the the two leads and great supporting cast. Underrated at 6.3 currently.

Tightly woven gangland thriller. The pacing was upbeat. For a crime based gangster piece it also has soul. Really appreciate the angle this was aiming for even if it does miss the mark in some areas.

First time ever rating a film. I saw the current rating of 6 and I found it totally unfair. This deserves way more attention. Netflix please stop filling the top 10 films with ridiculous titles and make us discover gems like these!