Mea Culpa - In the eye of crime

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Movie
German title Mea Culpa - In the eye of crime
Original title Mea culpa
Country of production France
original language French
Publishing year 2014
length 91 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Fred Cavayé
script Fred Cavayé,
Guillaume Lemans
production Cyril Colbeau-Justin ,
Jean-Baptiste Dupont ,
Sidonie Dumas
music Cliff Martinez
camera Danny Elsen
cut Benjamin Weill
occupation

Mea Culpa - In the Eye of the crime (original title: Mea Culpa ) is a French action - thriller from the year 2014 by Fred Cavayé .

action

Six years ago the two friends Simon and Franck, both fathers, worked as police officers in the port city of Toulon . But one rainy night after celebrating the end of a major mission, they rammed a car while driving home, killing two of its occupants, including a child. Franck survived unscathed while Simon, who drove under the influence of alcohol, was injured and sentenced to prison for the involuntary homicides. As a result, Simon lost both his job and his marriage to Alice.

Today Simon lives alone and works in a security company, while Franck, who is still a police officer, continues to take care of Simon and his family. Simon tries to fulfill his role as a father and his obligations to his 9 year old son Théo. Meanwhile, the city is ravaged by a brutal series of murders, which Simon is ultimately drawn into when his son Théo strays away from his mother during a bullfight and unwillingly witnesses a murder. Théo can escape, but now he is a target himself and is being persecuted and threatened by the Eastern European gangsters. For Simon it is the beginning of a race against time to protect his son from the criminals at all costs. Franck refuses to leave Simon alone. They team up again and try to solve the problem.

Franck and Simon ambush gangsters in a club and get into a shootout. The younger brother of gang leader Milan is shot by Simon. Simon decides to flee Toulon with Alice and Théo. Franck takes them to Aix-en-Provence on the TGV . Shortly after leaving, Franck notices that the gangsters are also in the TGV and starts chasing the train with his car. The gangsters have now discovered Simon, Alice and Théo and an exchange of fire begins, which stops the TGV. Simon gets involved in a fight by one of the gangsters, but allows Alice and Théo to escape. Franck appears just in time to save Simon's life, but is shot in the back by Milan. With the last of his strength, Simon manages to overpower Milan, who is eventually run over by a train. The fatally wounded Franck confesses to Simon in the presence of Alice and Théo that he himself had caused the accident back then. Believing that Simon was killed in the process, he placed him in the driver's seat. After that he no longer had the courage to tell the truth. The film ends with Franck's funeral, at which Simon, Alice and Théo find each other again.

background

The Cité du cinéma , a location for the film

Director Fred Cavayé previously worked with Vincent Lindon in No Guilt and with Gilles Lellouche in the films Point Blank - From Short Distance and Men and Women . In Mea Culpa , both actors stood together in front of the camera for the first time.

The first script written by Guillaume Lemans was based on an idea by Olivier Marchal . After it was discarded in favor of another project, Cavayé took up the idea again. However, he changed it because he wanted to make a movie that was less about revenge than about redemption. Marchal and Cavayé also knew each other well, as they had also previously worked together in No Guilt .

The film was shot in Toulon , Avignon , Arles and in Saint-Denis in the Cité du cinéma . In France and Belgium it was released on February 5, 2014, in Germany the film was shown in cinemas from September 18, 2014.

Reviews

The film service called Mea Culpa a "straightforward action thriller staged with breathtaking chase and action sequences in which rough men fight against criminals as well as against their life crisis." Psychologically, however, the film is "rather poorly illuminated."

Cinema said, “Lindon and Lellouche are sufficient characters to carry the plot. Both characters are surrounded by a melancholy tragedy, and you take it from them that they are not behind in bar fights. Unfortunately, the story is exhausted in endless chases, which are cleverly cut, but are hardly able to hide the poor level of the story. Cavayé is clearly based on American models, especially when it comes to the scenes of violence. Maybe he should orient himself more towards genre sizes of his own nation. "

Prisma judged: “Director Fred Cavayé has already proven with works such as" Ohne Schuld "and" Point Blank "that he can produce exciting thrillers. Now he has created a fast-paced police film, which admittedly scrapes the edge of credibility, but comes up with good actors and remarkable camera work. A hearty portion of action rounds off the dark picture of the demi-world of the French port city of Toulon. Memories of old master Jean-Pierre Melville (" The Ice Cold Angel ") are actually awakened. "

Michael Meyns wrote on film releases that Cavayé did not achieve the "melancholy depth of an obvious role model like Jean-Pierre Melville", but "in his raw, uncouth manner" Mea Culpa was "downright outrageously entertaining". Meyns sums it up: "With 'Mea Culpa - In the Eye of Crime', Fred Cavayé stages a gripping action thriller that impresses with two great leading actors and rousing action scenes."

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Certificate of Release for Mea Culpa - In the Eye of Crime . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , September 2014 (PDF; test number: 147 015 K).
  2. ↑ allocine.fr section "Retrouvailles" (French)
  3. ↑ allocine.fr section "Idée de départ" (French)
  4. ^ Locations in the Internet Movie Database
  5. ↑ Publication in the Internet Movie Database
  6. ↑ Filmkritik In: Filmdienst.de, accessed on March 18, 2018
  7. ↑ Filmkritik In: Cinema.de, accessed on March 18, 2018
  8. ^ Film review In: Prisma.de, accessed on March 18, 2018
  9. ↑ Michael Meyns: Filmkritik In: Filmstarts.de, accessed on March 18, 2018