Police [NTSC]

In this detective flick directed by Maurice Pialat, Gerard Depardieu plays Mangin, an embittered police detective who against his better judgement, falls for a beautiful young Arab immigrant who is embroiled in charges of trafficking heroin. In his dealings with the criminal class Mangin oscillates between brutality and sympathy as he tries to untangle a complex web of crimes and personalities, lies and deceits in an arcane game in which he searches not so much for the truth, but rather for a result. The frenetic cinematography, intensified by the use of hand-held cameras, creates a sense of hard-boiled realism, as does the over-lapping dialogue and convoluted narrative threads. Mangin increasingly loses his way as his affair with the duplicitous Noira muddies his perception of the truth. Written by French director Catherine Breillat. Cast includes: Sophie Marceau, Richard Anconina, Pascale Rocard and Sandrine Bonnaire.