"Albatros " must have taken aback most of Xavier Beauvois's fans ; both his precedent efforts were either based on real facts ("des hommes et des dieux" ) or a depiction of an historic context (women replacing men gone to war); though his 2021 film takes place among the police , it 's not the thriller the first pictures may announce.
It's half chronicle and half faux thriller : the first part may have bore the viewer but it's essential to set up the scenery ; a young policeman (Rénier) with good prospects , a marriage in sight (he's already got a little girl from his partner),a passion for the sea and the ships ;but a cop's life is not that much easy : a dead body discovered in Etretat near "l'aiguille creuse " , an abused child, all these events could be the nitty gritty :but it's not so and the viewer way be frustrated and bewildered; on the other hand, the biker who does not wear any helmet is given a whole scene ; the generally mild policeman is angry with this kid : " the crossroad is dangerous ,and we have to tell the desperate parents fathers about their bereavment "; the question of responsibility will come back to strike a chord with the hero later on .Some problems of our time are evoked :the plight of the farmers , and the anguish of the future : the female cop who has not found her soul mate for she does not want any children, not because it may hinder her career ,but because of the global warming ; if one of these subjects becomes the gist of the movie in the second part,it's only by chance : with a little luck ,things at the farm could have turned fine ,and the cop would have been considered a hero .
The second part does not do what the audience expects :there won't be a trial with the de rigueur brilliant lawyer ,however the unfortunate man finds some support among his colleagues , the psychiatrist is compassionate , but there's a tempest in his skull ,not only on the sea; the audience may be puzzled by an element one must call "gothic " as it notably recalls some Conan Doyle's supernatural sea tales .The use of music is extraordinary ,and Claude Chabrol's influence makes itself more and more felt in these psychological dramas (here "que la bête meure", 1969)
Jeremie Rénier is one of the best European actors of our time ; in a cesar-caliber performance ,he undergoes a complete metamorphosis: from the dynamic self-assured policeman to a human wreck devoured by remorse ,his facial expressions ran the gamut from to incredulity after the tragedy to agony .It's not the first time this actor has played ,without a moment's hesitation ,a thankless part many of his colleagues would have ditched for the role of a successful policeman or the usual brilliant lawyer .
The story takes place in Normandie ,mainly in Fécamp town ; it features a small tribute to Normand actor Bourvil : the ditty the cop's daughter and her school mates perform on stage is none other than "la tactique du gendarme " (from "le roi pandore " 1949);sadly ,the gendarme's tactics might lead to tragic events sometimes.....
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