Police (1985 film)

Police is a 1985 French neo noir crime drama film directed by Maurice Pialat and starring Gérard Depardieu, Sophie Marceau, and Sandrine Bonnaire. Written by Catherine Breillat, the film is about a moody, jaded police detective investigating a drug ring who falls for a mysterious woman and is drawn into a shady and dangerous scheme. The film had 1,830,970 admissions in France.

Plot
In the Belleville district of Paris, the widowed Mangin is a cynical and tough police detective working to smash a drug ring of Tunisian brothers. He arrests and brutally interrogates Noria, the girlfriend of one of the gang who is in jail. Though she gives him no useful information, her beauty and her tears touch his heart. She agrees to go with him in a foursome to a disco.

When another gang member is in hospital with knife wounds, he gives Noria the key to his hideout. There she finds a bag of money and heroin, which she removes. When the remaining gang members put heavy pressure on Noria, who denies all knowledge of the theft, she offers herself to Mangin. He is happy to accept her as a lover, even a partner, but says she will not live long if she does not give back the cash and the drugs.

She fetches the bag for Mangin, who takes it to the bar where the Tunisians hang out. They are delighted, promising to help him in return. Though he has done this to save Noria's life, and has declared his love for her, she leaves him.

Cast

 * Gérard Depardieu as Louis Vincent Mangin
 * Sophie Marceau as Noria
 * Richard Anconina as Lambert
 * Pascale Rocard as Marie Vedret
 * Sandrine Bonnaire as Lydie
 * Frank Karoui as René
 * Jonathan Leïna as Simon
 * Jacques Mathou as Gauthier
 * Bernard Fuzellier as Nez cassé
 * Bentahar Meaachou as Claude
 * Yann Dedet as Dédé
 * Artus de Penguern as Inspector

Reception
Richard Brody of The New Yorker magazine called the re-release of the film as "Astringently naturalistic drama."

Accolades
The film was nominated for a César for Best Editing in 1986, as well as a Best Actor nomination for Depardieu. Depardieu also won the Award for Best Actor from the Venice Film Festival in 1985 for his performance of the conflicted Mangin.