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  • Violent and amazing crime thriller jammed with intense drama , top-drawer performances and spectacular action scenes . The film was noteworthy for casting some of the finest actors in France as Vincent Lindon and Gilles Lellouche .I n other ways , it feels like a tribute to ¨Polar¨ genre or French Noir Cinema , filled with exciting characters , twisted intrigues , surprising events and lots of action . Intense and intelligent thriller about Franck (Gilles Lellouche) and Simon (Vincent Lindon) are both good but violent cops . They work as police colleagues with no legal means left to them . Simon has been troubled since he killed three people in a drunk driving accident, and whose life radically changes when is accused for killing . Simon is sentenced to various years by negligence driving for homicide charges. Several years later , out of the police and divorced his wife Alice (Nadine Labaki) , Simon is a disturbing and unsettled person . Then Simons's son witnesses a killing , and he is hunted by nasty killers, as he's efficiently back . As a ruthless gang committing a series of violent murders and seeking vengeance . The essential question that lies in the film is the following : How far would you go for those you love ?

    This stirring film contains action , violence , thrills , suspense and plot twists .It is a stylish , complex movie driven by character , dealing with Franck and Simon are both good cops and partners who become involved in dangerous and deadly situations . Formula thriller filled with gritty intrigue , crisply edition , tension , suspenseful and lots of violence . It is a flick of interwoven lives structured in two protagonists , crossed by a web of suspense that is resolved in the last story in a surprising finale . This serious and truly original film with groundbreaking narrative results to be a fantastically intriguing story of mobsters , violence , corruption , deceiving and killing , being very well done , swiftly paced and including a twisted screenplay . Excellent thriller in which nothing is the way it seems , the atmosphere is already tense and the twists and turns are the best part of this movie . In other ways, it feels like a tribute to Alfred Hitchcock, full of attractive roles and edge-of-your-seat intrigue . Attractive characters as Vincent Lindon/Simon whose life takes a tailspin when driving drunk, causes a tragic car wreck , and after that , he is forced to take matters into his own hands when his family is in death danger . Interesting screenplay by Guillaume Lemans and Fred Cavayé himself , based on the original idea by expert Olivier Marchal , an actor/director who has written/directed sensational Fench thrillers , just like "36 Quai Des Orfèvres" or ¨36th Precinct" , ¨Gangsters¨ , ¨Diamond 13¨, ¨Mr73¨ , ¨Les Lyonnais¨ , ¨Anything for her¨ . This is a perfect thriller being starred by an all-star-cast such as Vincent Lindon as Simon whose life is turned upside down when he is accused of a car crash and Gilles Lellouche as Franck Vasseur , his best friend and partner . And , of course , a gorgeous as well as good actress Nadine Labaki as Alice , the divorced wife ; in fact ,Fred Cavayé chose this Lebanon actress Labaki for her radiant beauty, as it would make her character's ordeal all the more powerful . Good production design , and nice cinematography by Danny Elsen shot on location in Avignon, Vaucluse, Arles, Bouches-du-Rhône Gare de Marseille-Saint-Charles, Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France and Arena of Nîmes, Nîmes, Occitani(Bullfighting sequences). Excellent, moving and thrilling soundtrack by Cliff Martinez that elevates the emotion and the intensity of the scenes to new heights . The picture achieved big success and was Nominated several Cesar Awards and considered to be one of the best thrillers of the year in which you'll leave the cinema shaken and moved .

    Fred Cavallé did a formidable job with this International title and filming lasted various weeks. Fred was immediately impressed with writer Guillaume Lemans's passion for the original story written by Olivier Marchal , and his vision, stating that he understood that the story was a magnificent and nail-biting thriller . Olivier Marchal is a notorious writer/director and he formerly was a police officer . As Olivier Marchal started taking acting lessons when he still was a police officer .The idea for the film came from Guillaume Lemans who was impressed by Olivier Marchal story , once Fred Cavayé got involved, the two men started out by working on the film separately before sharing their ideas , Cavayé then wrote the first draft of the screenplay himself, and so on. Cavallé is a notorious writer/director and he formerly was a fashion and advertising photographer . He has directed a few films as "The Players" with Oscar winner Jean Dujardin and another phenomenal thriller titled ¨Point blank ¨ with Gilles Lellouche , Gérard Lanvin and Elena Anaya . And , of course , his first big hit ¨Pour elle" ,France (original title or "Anything for Her" ) with Vincent Lindon , Diane Kruger , being remade in American version (2010) by Paul Haggis with Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks . Eclectic and moving, Cavallé is a successful filmmaker . Rating : 7/10 . Better than average . An exhilarating thriller that have you on the edge of the seat .
  • Warning: Spoilers
    Whilst talking to a pal on Twitter about politics,we got onto discussing Cluaude Miller's interesting final film Thérèse (as you do!) During the chat, they mentioned to me that Thérèse co-star Gilles Lellouche was appearing in a very good Thriller about to air,which led to me asking for mea culpa.

    The plot:

    Since being involved in a fatal car crash, police officer Simon has been unable to keep his job and family life on track,with a warning of being sacked for any mistake. At a football match,Simon's son goes to the bathroom,and sees a bunch of gangsters murder a man. As the mob try to locate the lone witness of their killing,Simon puts a hand out for help,from his former fellow police officer Franck Vasseur.

    View on the film:

    Trying to protect Simon's professional life and the life of his family, Gilles Lellouche gives a wonderful performance as Franck Vasseur, with Lellouche giving Vasseur a soulfulness which bonds the friendship,even in explosive action scenes. Haunted by the car crash, Vincent Lindon gives a performance that rumbles with gravitas as Simon, with Lindon making the actions Simon takes be fuelled by the memories.

    Bringing Simon's memories into view with blue-tint flashbacks, co- writer/(with Guillaume Lemans and Olivier Marchal) director Fred Cavayé & cinematographer Danny Elsen pour gravel onto the screen,with the silvery walls of trains and burning red blood shots being the only bursts of colour in Simon's life. Closely working with editor Benjamin Weill, Cavayé gives the Thriller a frantic atmosphere,as Simon and Vasseur's fight with gangsters hits trim tracking shots and some wonderfully over the top,glass shattering fight scenes on a train.

    Dipping into Simon's past, the writers give it enough space so that the memories are always tugging while Simon attempts to protect his son.Whilst not giving that much background to the "baddies", the writers glide by this flaw with an excellent use of Action Thriller locations to stick both sides in, from a fast-pace shoot-out in a seedy nightclub to an extended, tough as nails fight on the inside and the outside of a train,as Simon gets a train ticket for mea culpa.
  • Warning: Spoilers
    I probably wasn't originally going to watch this French movie, but the plot sounded mildly interesting, and I do like to try new foreign language films every so often. Basically Franck (Gilles Lellouche) and Simon (Vincent Lindon) work as colleagues together in the police, but their lives have taken a tailspin. Following an accident years ago, where Simon was driving a car whilst drunk, they crashed, and it caused the deaths of three people in the collision. Since then, Simon has lost his job and become estranged from his family, and Franck has a guilty conscience. A series of murders have taken place in Toulon, Simon's son witnesses one of these murders, the ruthless killers are hunting for him, and the whole family is in danger. Slowly Simon and Franck come back together to investigate the crimes, catch the killers and save Simon's family. They detect a killer who works for a Serbian mafia gang, the criminals will stop at nothing to follow through on their mission, but neither will the two police men. It all comes to confrontation on a train, where the officers and the criminals come face to face, of course good defeats evil, but also, the truth about the drunken car accident is revealed. In fact, both men had been drinking, but it was Franck that was driving the car, he assumed that Simon was already dead in the accident, he switched his body into the driver's seat to save his own skin, when he realised he was alive, therefore he felt guilty, for breaking his family up, but everything is sorted in the end. Also starring Nadine Labaki as Alice, Gilles Cohen as Pastor, Max Baissette de Malglaive as Théo, Medi Sadoun as Jacquet, Velibor Topic as Milan, Cyril Lecomte as Jean-Marc, Gilles Bellomi as Andrei and Sacha Petronijevic as Pietr. It is pretty simple story, a disgraced cop trying to prove himself and get his family back after gangsters come after them, there are some eye-catching action, chase and shoot-up sequences to keep up the pace, but it is fairly predictable, the twist ending is relatively alright, overall it is an average crime thriller. Worth watching!
  • When I saw the trailer of Mea Culpa, I was really seduced. Vincent Lindon and Gilles Lellouche together in a thriller with real tough scenes, I jumped on this must see ... and I wasn't disappointed at all.

    And the movie begins very hard, and it goes on like this till the end : lot of twists and surprises all along the movie, with physical strength and action packed sequences. And noir destiny, very noir.

    Believe it, editing and cinematography serve effectively each scene, and you are always surprised. A constant pleasure. And a very smart ending.

    Vincent Lindon and Gilles Lellouche are stunning, I just loved their magnetic friendship. They are the main characters really developed.

    There are some relevant references to classic movies masterpieces, which make want to see again Framed directed by Phil Karlson, same kind of fights.

    I'm waiting for the next Fred Cavayé.
  • "Mea Culpa" will not win any awards for plot originality, and the "ethnic" villains are cardboard, but it's gritty, fast-paced and viscerally exciting, with plenty of fights, shootouts and chases. *** out of 4.
  • We stayed in a confused state of mind until the last moment, a far-fetched ending finally revealed the implication of the title. Yet apart from its pertinence to the title, the last twist really seems redundant. As an action movie, it is a passable one, though the plot can be further refined to provide more coherence.
  • Warning: Spoilers
    Incredibly awful film. They set up all sorts of back stories for the characters and then proceed to ignore it so we can have an hour of 'tough cops doing what they need to'. the clichéd ruthless but shot shy Eastern European gangsters, the estranged wife and weak boss who plays too much by the rules, they are all there to allow us a few seconds to breathe between screeching cars and running around with guns. But all this is irrelevant to one of the most bizarre plot holes I have ever seen. we are asked to believe that a whole gangster outfit put their lives on the line to chase after a kid who saw them for a few seconds. To find him and kill him they run through various crowded scenes shooting at cops with abandon, including a train where they can not only be clearly seen by dozens of adults but even stop and chat to ticket inspectors. A pointless twist at the end which has no emotional context with the rest of the film is the last straw. It makes it worse that it is clearly not made on the cheap. Really not sure how grown ups can get away with this kind of nonsense.
  • Warning: Spoilers
    Also 1 star for fake 10 star reviews by the film company interns, and IMDb's lack of fake review blocking.

    Vincent Lindon may be an okay actor but, he's pretty homely, so I guess that he insisted that the rest of the male cast (all cops and bad guys) have to look really ugly. His character's wife and all the other women in the film are 30 years younger with great looking tea teas. Quite a contrast that makes the film unintentionally funny.

    So then there's a plot that his son saw a murder scene and the whole gang has to chase the kid down for the rest of the movie. They publicly kill many people before and after but, apparently none of the hundreds of those witnesses need to be chased down, just this kid, ???

    Shootings, chasings, grapple-fighting like a TV cop show; boring. If they wanted a hit, and since they obviously don't care about plot or character development, they should have added big explosions like any typical Michael Bay turkey. This film is less than that.
  • Vincent Lindon plays Simon who is an ex - police officer. Years ago he was dismissed from the gendarmes for causing a car accident whilst drunk. Since he was released from prison he has failed to reconnect with his estranged wife and ten year old son, It is as if a part of him died in the car crash too. He is now making a sort of living working for a security firm.

    His old partner from the police - Franck (Gilles Lelouche) has stayed loyal to him, though Simon finds that hard to understand. Then a random incident puts the lives of Simon's son and wife in jeopardy. This turn of events brings the two friends back together to take on the bad guys and defend Simon's family.

    The above is a simple synopsis and actually belies how well crafted this plot is. It is brilliantly directed and the actors are all excellent especially the main ones. It is both stylish and gritty at the same time. The tension is well ramped up and the mood is one that exemplifies the danger almost from the start. There is also a bull fight sequence here which may upset some people - so please take note. This is though a real edge of seat actioner that has a heart and a compelling story line - which makes it very easy to recommend this one.
  • I love French movies, they always have something about them that others don't. But not Mea Culpa. This is the first French movie I've ever seen that is as dumb as the dumbest Hollywood movie. Essentially, a kid witnesses a murder and then the rest of the movie is a bunch of set pieces. That's it. And not good set pieces either. Just set pieces that are an excuse for punching, kicking and shooting in the manner of a Michael Bay movie. No characters you cared a jot for, which is a sin for a French movie, and proof yet again that fast cuts do not an interesting movie make. A waste of everyone's time. Fortunately, after about 20 minutes I watched the rest on fast forward so not too much time in my case.
  • Warning: Spoilers
    I already know that Fred Cavayé is a great action film director, the best french one after Florent Emilio Siri.

    The reading of this feature topic scared me. I have still in mind the lousy script of his first film: POUR ELLE, predictable at the most, with a totally unbelievable tale. His second movie: A BOUT PORTANT was far better.

    Back to this one, OK, it is full of clichés, but the many action sequences are powerful, fast paced, thrilling, at first rate riveting for the audience. As usual with Cavayé. Vincent Lindon is not vrey often seen in this kind of action flick, but rather in dramas. I like that. He is pretty good.

    But there is a totally unbelievable scene - I'd better say some sequences - concerning the armored truck company - where Lindon's character works - that should have remained on the cutting room floor. How the hell a security guard - Lindon - can go to his company after hours, take some guns (automatic ones, armored truck companies in France never use automatic pistols) from the armored locked room, meet some of his colleagues in the locker room? AFTER HOURS !!! Just non sense?

    Fred Cavayé must have been drunk !!!

    The ending is very surprising, in the line of WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE....I am not joking...

    From an Olivier Marchal story.
  • Seth_Rogue_One23 January 2016
    A very disappointing movie for me as Point Blank (2010) is my favourite French movie and the director of that movie also directed this.

    It starts off extremely confusing with a incoherent plot line of clips taking place in the present time mixed with random flashbacks, get's slightly more coherent perhaps 25 minutes in or so but by then I had pretty much given up on the movie.

    Felt like it was originally 2 hours or something but then cut down to 90 minutes because it was too slow for them to label it a action-movie and thought fast cuts = action.

    And then we get a scene of (real) animal-torture from a bullfighting arena where we get to see a matador sticking knives (again real) into the innocent bull while the crowd cheers in excitement, which was pretty much the nail in the coffin for me.

    Well-made action-scenes though, once the action actually get started.
  • A mother and her child come out of the police station. Two killers drive by on a motorcycle with the aim of killing the boy. And the mother tells her son to run away? Any mother would be grabbing her son and bringing him back into the police station, or just hiding behind a car so as not to get shot. Sending her son away on his own is such an improbable scenario. It's almost laughable.
  • French director Fred Cavaye completes a hat-trick of exciting, exhausting thrillers with MEA CULPA, a film which pairs up the two heroes of his earlier films: namely Vincent Lindon from ANYTHING FOR HER and Giles Lellouche from POINT BLANK. These two larger-than-life characters are on the same side, battling a gang of murderous heroin smugglers in the south of France.

    Cavaye has clearly learnt plenty from his classic POINT BLANK as MEA CULPA is a film in the same mould. There's barely a slow or extraneous moment here, just constant thrills and excitement as the plot twists and turns along and frenetic action sequences regularly punctuate the narrative with machine-gun precision. The cinematography is top notch and could quite easily show more than a few Hollywood directors how to shoot action that feels exciting, realistic, and fresh.

    Lindon in particular gives an excellent performance with Lellouche happy to stand back and support him, and the supporting cast is well chosen too. There are moments of sentiment here, included in order for the characters and viewer to have something to care about, but the emphasis is on the action as it should be. Nightclubs, warehouses, and trains all provide perfect backdrops for the fast-paced and visceral thrills and what a thrilling movie MEA CULPA is.
  • I found this film rather shallow, with lots of violence and little in the way of serious plot. Simon was an interesting character but could have been developed further, I feel. Violence in films will always draw an audience but if not supported by a meaningful story it's appeal is seriously limited, in my opinion.
  • I've tried on a few occasions (mainly because I have a bad memory) to watch this film but it is SO dire that I have never achieved my goal. Life is short! Don't waste it on this amateur nonsense!
  • kosmasp25 April 2015
    An accident can mess up your life completely. Especially if you're not in control ... Some might call it tough luck, others unfortunate circumstances, but whatever the case our main lead had a rough ride up until now and it doesn't seem to get better for him (or his family, whether they are close to him or not doesn't matter, because he does care for them).

    The acting is more than solid and the story is really nicely and expertly told. There might be things that you can tell happening and you might see twists even before they are revealed fully, but that doesn't take anything away from the movie. It just shows you've seen a lot of movies, which isn't a bad thing either. A lot french thrillers seem to be worth your while, definitely this one
  • Warning: Spoilers
    Simon was a police officer in Toulon until he was involved in a car crash, after a bout of heavy drinking, which left three people dead. He went to prison and his marriage broke down but he finds himself working with his old partner again after his young son witnesses the latest killing in a drug related gang war. These thugs will stop at nothing to eliminate any witnesses but Simon, and his friend Franck, will do what it takes to stop them.

    If you are hoping for gritty realism you are likely to be disappointed; but if you want lots of action then you could do a lot worse. There are chases, both on foot and in cars, fights and shootouts. It all leads to an impressive final confrontation aboard a train as numerous killers close in on Simon and his family. This action is pretty exciting and at times quite brutal. Vincent Lindon and Gilles Lellouche do in impressive job as Simon and Franck; their characters have a good chemistry and make their characters feel real. The final scene does feature an unexpected, and to my mind unnecessary, twist although it didn't spoil my enjoyment of what had gone before. Overall this is a solid thriller; I'd certainly recommend it to fans of the genre.

    These comments are based on watching the film in French with English subtitles.