Over the holiday I saw two of the best films of the year. Mesrine: Killer Instinct and Mesrine: Public Enemy #1, two parts of one story, released separately. Mesrine: Killer Instinct (part one) was released abroad in 2008; the French film received the highest honor, the César Award, for both director Jean-Francois Richet and lead actor Vincent Cassel. Finally distributed to the USA, the upside is that we can see both films without waiting so long for part two like the international audience. Two films, two tickets, nearly five hours but yes, well worth it.
Jacques Mesrine was a notorious international bank robber and kidnapper who managed to escape prison four times. Part idealist, part revolutionary, part rebel with a healthy dollop of sociopath, Mesrine makes no apologies for his behavior. Despite his brutality and his recklessness, women fall for him and partners in crime treat him with affection and respect. It is not a matter of being misunderstood; he is a restless, gregarious and ambitious guy who enjoys attention and validation, that has chosen a lifestyle that creates a fundamental separation from most people. It is not easy to like this brute. It may not even be possible. But you won't, you can't forget him.
1 comment:
Hmm, teacher whyatt thinks that youre a francophile with this pairing of 3 movies? N'est ce pas? Having said this, Vincent Cassel is perhaps best known for being married to Monica Bellucci, no? We ended up seeing the Switch, not earth shattering but we find Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston hugely watchable, and Jeff Goldblum hysterical with the best lines in the movie. So it goes.
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