I'm really tough on realism, good scripting, dialogs and screenplay when it gets to appreciate a movie. In this case, Schoendorffer made one of the most realistic and even scaring movie of the french criminal society. Nothing is left aside to stigmatize what happens on the dark side of the french society. Ruthless mobsters fighting silently for their share of drug business, prostitutes, theft and a lifestyle that consists in consuming life by both ends. I must actually admit that this movie is in total opposition with anything I've seen in recent years, in particular American crime thrillers that are often quite stereotyped. This one is so realistic, so close to real life that it is scaring. The trafficking that goes on here is the one you read about in the newspapers and the actors play so convincingly that you feel like a silent witness of a mobsters' daily life. It's not a movie for kids clearly and Schoendorffer spares the viewer nothing of the terrible violence of this underground world. This movie is among the top 10 I've seen in my life and I guess it will stay there. I can only recommend it warmly to anyone interested in seeing a real good crime thriller. Of course, if you're french and live in the southern Paris suburbs, you'll recognize lots of places in this movie and will even feel more involved with the screenplay.
Definitely a must.
