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36 AKA 36 Quai des Orfèvres (2004)
R2 - United Kingdom - Tartan Video Review written by and copyright: Jari Kovalainen (11th January 2007). |
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The Film
 Several acclaimed crime films were made during the 1960s and 1970s in France, most notably from the director Jean-Pierre Melville (e.g. “The Godson AKA Le Samouraï (1967)”, “The Red Circle AKA Le Cercle rouge (1970)” and “A Cop AKA Un flic (1972)”). He also used actors such as Alain Delon and Jean-Paul Belmondo, now quite legendary names of French New Wave. These films took some influences from American “film noir” and in some degree Hollywood has also influenced “36 AKA 36 Quai des Orfèvres (2004)” by director/co-writer Olivier Marchal. Michael Mann´s “Heat (1995)” was the film that lay down the foundations of a modern crime film in many ways, and even when “36” has its own, very “European” approach to its story, some similar themes can be seen in Marchal´s film: two charismatic, ambitious and macho leading men, both battling with their inner demons, both living for the job, both from the “old school”. Inspectors Léo Vrinks (Daniel Auteuil) and Denis Klein (Gérard Depardieu) will have to stop the ruthless gang of robbers, who have left a trail of blood and destruction to the streets of Paris. One proof of their actions can be seen during the opening scenes, when the very “Heat”-inspired robbery of the armoured car is shown. Several people end up dead and Chief Mancini (André Dussollier) has had enough. This part of the story doesn´t sound that unique, but Marchal quickly changes his focus to the lead characters, who will face each other like in westerns (“urban western” is the phrase that he uses in the extras) - only one can be the new sheriff. Even when both men are already leaders in the police force (only different sections), they are eventually placed in the opposite corners of the room when Chief Mancini gives the ultimatum; whoever gets the gang - and that gang has to be caught, will be the new Chief of Police. For Vrinks the promotion is not the goal and he seems to be tired of the political talk, but for Klein it´s something that he would do anything for. Still, Vrinks is drawn deeper to the case and both men disappear into the night and the underground world. The rule book is out of the window and even the moral values start to suffer. Vrinks finds himself in a very tight spot with unfortunate results from his informer and Klein is watching his every move, his every mistake. Bit by bit, both are crossing the line of “cops and robbers” and making their own rules. Can there be a “winner”, if man is losing his code of morals and justice? It would be quite easy to use the old, almost tired, argument about how the European cinema is much more interesting than the American one - especially when it comes to crime films. Where the American films can turn into glorified action at some point, the European counterparts are more “sophisticated”, “intellectual”, and “real”. I´m sure this can be the case many times, but even with the best of efforts and excellent cast, “36” is not a new “Heat”, nor the crime masterpiece. It´s still a good and solid film, bringing some hope that the genre will wake up from the (near) dead in Europe too. Director Marchal builds up the story rather effectively, giving hints of some sub plots from early on in the film, and gives an edgy look to the Parisian criminal world. Character introduction is handled interestingly, when we meet the respected Vrinks, the leader of his group of men who follows him, even when it means some bending of the rules. Violence can be answered with violence in his world, but it´s more like a “code of the streets” and one way for the police officers to survive. It´s not a pretty world out there and it´s even more darker for the people who have to stop the criminals. Loyalty is everything for Vrinks, even if it means that this dedication towards the work will keep the slight distance between Vrinks and his beautiful wife Camille (Valeria Golino). Klein was respected in the old days, but now he is a bitter and cold man, who has lost his glory as a police and who keeps going only for the chance of promotion. He´s still connected to the underworld, but only through violence and threats and only for his own good. Friends are something that he doesn´t have. Promotion is his last chance to rise in the headlines and get more power, his last chance to be important. But as we know, power corrupts. Marchal was a real police officer before moving into acting and directing, and says in the extras that the first “part” of the film is very much inspired by the real events that he saw or heard, while the rest of the film is more fictional. I´m not sure is this just a consequence, but for me the more “autobiographical” part works better than the rest of the film. The story changes from the dark and violent underworld to the “cat and mouse” game of the two leading actors and unfortunately this also means that in the end the tight grip from the beginning is somewhat lost. Marchal can´t keep all the strings together and the story starts to wander too much from the original premise (organised crime posse on the loose), rivalry of the two leads, different sub plots and eventually also with some “family problems” of both men. When you add some different characters to the story that are often left rather superficial, too much is brought to the table at the same time. Like the two strong characters in the film, two strong routes of the story are battling for the audience; crime and melodrama. I would´ve stuck more on the first route. Plenty of good things are still left and I very much liked the not-so-ordinary locations of Paris; the dark and dank streets, rough industrial areas and gloomy highways. They make the film feel very much “European” and original, even when the action is influenced from the American movies. Cinematography and style serves the story well and the general mood is melancholic and serious (things that are almost the key of the successful crime film). Both lead actors are also in good form. I was quite impressed with Daniel Auteuil after “The Adversary AKA L'Adversaire (2002)” and he can carry the movie if it comes to that. This time the load is shared with the true icon of French cinema, Gérard Depardieu (e.g. “1900 AKA Novecento (1976)”, “Cyrano de Bergerac (1990)”, and “1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992)”) and although they don´t work together as superbly as e.g. Pacino and De Niro in “Heat”, it´s great to see these truly respected actors in the gritty, yet subtle, roles. “36” proves also that Europe can produce interesting and dark cop stories, but the film could´ve been more straightforward and less sentimental; it clearly had more potential. Now it falls in the “very good - but not great” category. In the end, perhaps it relies too much for the presence of these two actors and some other issues tend to suffer during the process.
Video
The film is presented in Anamorphic 2.35:1 (back cover lists the aspect ratio mistakenly as 1.78:1) and the results are pretty good. The look of the film is not always that polished or colourful, but the dark interiors and the locations of Paris are sharp, offering good black levels and colours. Minor background noise can be seen in some scenes, and the stylish cinematography has plenty of certain grittiness left - so don´t expect the look of the Hollywood blockbuster a la “Bad Boys”. The “dual layer” disc is “R2” encoded and has 16 chapters. The films runs 106:33 minutes (PAL).
Audio
Plenty of audio choices here; French DTS 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo and dubbed English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. Optional English subtitles are included. I chose French DTS, which is a pleasantly active surround-track, although it´s not as aggressive as one could expect. Music is one of the driving forces of the film and the whole mood and the track does a good job of various action-scenes of the film (some can be quite sudden and effective).
Extras
All extras (including the Trailers) are in French, with optional English subtitles. -“Olivier Marchal Interview” -featurette runs 9:37 minutes and seems to be exclusively made for this Tartan-DVD. The director tells about his background as a police officer (in an anti-terrorist unit) and about the production of the film. He surprisingly reveals that he had to provide a “12” rated film, which probably meant that he had to be more careful with violence (there is still some left). Marchal also tells how he first met his leading actors and based on the stories it seems that both of those nights ended with a few drinks. In this interview he also clearly gives some credits to the American films and tells how he tried to make an entertaining and urban film, not complicated “art”. -“Making 36” -featurette runs 27:42 minutes and is a “fly on the wall”-type of piece where you see some rough behind the scenes-material from the various locations along the production. In this honest featurette you´ll see how tired Marchal sometimes is, but also how relaxed the atmosphere on the set could be. I just can´t imagine that many veteran directors would say that “let´s go home - it´s too cold” during the important scene, so perhaps those type of scenes reveal that Marchal has still something to learn about filmmaking. -“Choosing Costumes” -featurette runs 13:41 minutes and shows some rough footage of actors trying different clothes and of course kissing each other (French way of greeting each other). Marchal is very involved in this process also. -“Choosing Weapons” -featurette runs 13:09 minutes and in the style of the earlier featurette, this one takes a closer look at the various guns used in the movie. To people into the guns this is probably very interesting, but for me both this and the “costumes”-featurette were a bit too long. French theatrical trailer (2:00 min) and teaser (0:52 sec) round up the extras. Keep case also includes a 4-page booklet, with lines notes by Miles Fielder.
Overall
A recommended, yet still somewhat flawed film, that loses its focus in the middle of the film and starts to steer away too much from the crime and action. DVD-release by Tartan includes a good transfer, DTS and some extras, so no real complaints on that front. Note, that the US remake of the film, “36 (2007)” (based on De Niro himself, he could be involved) is coming. For more info, please visit the homepage of Tartan Video (UK).
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