Jean Dujardin and Sandrine Kiberlain in November: a pacy portrait of French policing. Photo / Supplied
Jean Dujardin and Sandrine Kiberlain in November: a pacy portrait of French policing. Photo / Supplied
On November 13, 2015, Paris was hit by deadly terror attacks orchestrated in quick succession. Suicide bombings at a football game in the Stade de France, shootings at restaurants and bars in the city centre, and the murder of 90 concertgoers at the Bataclan theatre. Overall, 130 people died asa result.
Unlike the devastating United 93 (which portrayed the 9/11 hijacking of one of the planes almost minute by minute), November doesn’t replay the horrific acts at length. Opting instead to set the scene and build tension swiftly in the film’s opening moments, director Cédric Jimenez (The Stronghold) uses his documentary-making background to great effect in a gripping, behind-the-scenes depiction of the ensuing police investigation and manhunt.
The Artist’s charismatic Jean Dujardin takes the lead as police chief Fred, alongside Jérémie Renier (The Kid with a Bike), Sandrine Kiberlain, and a cast of civilian-like faces whose fast response to the crimes bounces between teams with a sense of urgency, thanks to doco-like hand-held photography and tight editing. The result is a fascinating tale of triumph, rather than a gruelling tale of woe.
If it seems improbable that the Parisian authorities responded so quickly to the first reports of shootings – the sort of plot point that would have a viewer snorting “as if!” were this a Hollywood actioner – we are reminded that only 10 months earlier, Paris was reeling from the Charlie Hebdo magazine attack, in which 12 people were killed. Everyone was on high alert.
French cinema seems to be falling into three camps lately: the heartwarming but lightweight trope-filled comedies; brutally naturalistic gang stories à la Athena and Jimenez’s previous drama The Stronghold (worth catching on Netflix); and realist docudramas such as Notre-Dame on Fire and The Night of the 12th, which combine real people with actors in their detailed retellings of true-life tragedy.
November sits in this third oeuvre, and though its choice not to relive the attacks means it loses (or protects us from) greater emotional impact, Jimenez builds a fascinating portrait of French policing with pace and excitement.
