The Code (2002)
Bibi Naceri, Clotilde Courau, David Saracino, Francis Renaud, Lucien Jean-Baptiste ... (see more) , Marie Guillard , Michel Duchaussoy , Philippe Nahon , Samuel Le Bihan , Samy Naceri
In this French crime thriller, it's difficult for an ex-con to toe the straight and narrow when his friends are on the wrong side of the law. When he's finally released from lockdown, all Dris (Samuel Le Bihan) wants is to settle down with his family. But his former best friend, Yani (Samy Naceri), ... (read more) In this French crime thriller, it's difficult for an ex-con to toe the straight and narrow when his friends are on the wrong side of the law. When he's finally released from lockdown, all Dris (Samuel Le Bihan) wants is to settle down with his family. But his former best friend, Yani (Samy Naceri), now rules the roost, and he's eager to have Dris rejoin their dubious circle.
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R, 107 min.
Directed by:
Manuel Boursinhac
Release Date: Jan 01, 2002
DVD Release Date: May 11, 2004
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La Mentale... ou The Film de gangster franchouillard qui cherche a peter plus haut que son cul (les auteurs disent s'etre inspire de Melville... please laisse ce cher Jean-Pierre reposer en paix).
Ecrit par Bibi Naceri, frere de Sami et (mauvais) ac... (read more) La Mentale... ou The Film de gangster franchouillard qui cherche a peter plus haut que son cul (les auteurs disent s'etre inspire de Melville... please laisse ce cher Jean-Pierre reposer en paix).
Ecrit par Bibi Naceri, frere de Sami et (mauvais) acteur dans Banlieue 13, La Mentale disserte sur le code de l'honneur inherant a certains membres de la voyoucratie.
Loin de moi l'idee de remettre en cause le vecu du scenariste (tout ceci est parait il inspire de faits reels...mouais) mais le film ne fonctionne pas, la faute a de multiples defauts et la on a l'embarras du choix .
Des acteurs execrables :Le Bihan a le charisme d'un oeuf, Clotilde Coureau aussi credible en gitane que Marthe Villalonga en Spiderman et Sami Naceri se croit dans Scarface... on se demande ce que des comediens comme Philippe Nahon, Michel Duchaussoy et Francis Renaud viennent foutre ici !
Les dialogues...outranciers et surjoues au possible : voir la scene ou le Bihan va gueuler comme un poivrot sous les fenetres de sa copine.
La mentale se voudrait une peinture realiste du milieu mais manque totalement de credibilite...
Mais le pire dans tout ça, c'est qu'on se fait chier pendant 1h30 : un pauvre gunfight, quelques bourre-pifs et puis c'est tout.
Au moins dans Truands de Schoendorffer, des mecs se faisaient buter, charcuter et y avait du cul meme si c'etait parfois d'une gratuite effarante et souvent hilarant (ah Philippe Caubere...mais c'est une autre histoire).
Des qualites ? Une ou deux belles scenes, quelques comediens qui restent sobres et basta !
Bref, j'ai perdu mon temps alors que c'est un truc que j'avais telecharge, d'habitude je suis indulgent mais faut pas pousser.
Apres cette entreprise catastrophique, la carriere de Le Bihan a pris l'eau et le real est passe a la television ou il torche des episodes de Diane Femme Flic...on comprend pourquoi.
Just superb, Hollywood can never get close enough to this action-packed french thriller
tu casses pas les couilles personne t'emmerde ...tu trahis t'es mort ....c la seule loi ...
Quite a normal movie, but magnificent music. The theme is very beautiful
A good gangster flick. The killing gets a bit much in the end but anyway, a nice watch.
How has this film been missed on Flixster?
First, they fail to list it by it's original name, 'La Mentale'. Then they fail to list the cast. Time to correct the error...
La Mentale stars (amongst others) Samy Naceri and Samuel Le Bihan and Phillipe... (read more) How has this film been missed on Flixster?
First, they fail to list it by it's original name, 'La Mentale'. Then they fail to list the cast. Time to correct the error...
La Mentale stars (amongst others) Samy Naceri and Samuel Le Bihan and Phillipe Nahon, and was written by none other than Samy's brother, Bibi Naceri.
Dris (Le Bihan) is a French Arab ex-con starting a new life, trying to escape the criminal pull of the banlieue back to hash dealing, car theft and robbery. Raised in a good family, he sees his younger brother drawn into the enticing world of the hoodie, aspiring to be a gang leader, egged on by a criminalistically devoted cousin, Yanis (Naceri) who has become a legend in the Paris gangs and an icon to the daring youngsters.
As Dris wrestles to break the cycle with his brother, Mel, Yanis works hard to draw Dris back into his old circle of friends, to his once passionate affair with a jewel-thief gypsy, to snatch him away from the sedate 'normal' life he has established with his fiancee who knows that the meddling of Yanis only spells trouble.
Constantly battling the obvious truth that the 'straight' life doesn't pay well for French Arabs, Dris reluctantly concedes to indulge in one last job, for the motherlode - a hijacking of an armoured van.
But Mel and his chums have ideas of their own to be big time dealers for Yanis' old rival, and to naively build bridges between both sides of a crime war, not realising that they are about to be made pawns in a deadly game of rivalry.
When Mel is kidnapped Yanis launches an all-out war on his rival, with a frought Dris reluctantly dragged along seeking only the safe recovery of his brother, which seems to be too much to ask around the self-destructive Yanis.
Ultimately there is no honour among the criminal fraternities, and The Code goes down the pan in a no-holds barred battle for survival and revenge. Will Dris ever escape the old life?
Very, very well acted, if occasionally slow-moving, character piece - some excellent portrayal of banlieue culture and a good atmospheric reproduction of the seedy underbelly of Parisian suburb life.
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