Death to the referee
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Death to the referee |
| Original title | À mort l'arbitre |
| Country of production | France |
| original language | French |
| Publishing year | 1983 |
| length | 82 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Jean-Pierre Mocky |
| script |
Alfred Draper (novel) Jacques Dreux Jean-Pierre Mocky |
| production | Raymond Danon |
| music | Alain Chamfort |
| camera | Edmond Richard |
| cut | Catherine Renault |
| occupation | |
| |
Death to the Referee is a 1983 French feature film .
action
An important soccer game is coming up. The police knew in advance that there could be violent clashes and put together an emergency force under the direction of Inspector Granowski. During the game, the referee gives Maurice Bruno a decisive penalty . After the game, the fans of the defeated team, dressed in yellow and black, first mess with the opposing fan camp and band under ringleader Rico to ambush the referee.
Maurice and his girlfriend, the journalist Martine, who had watched the game from the spectator rows, manage to steal from the stadium unseen. They drive to the studio of the TV station FR3, where Maurice is taking part in a football discussion. Rico and some of his rowdy buddies have meanwhile given up waiting for the referee and are sitting in a pizzeria . When Rico hears the referee giving his assessment of the game on television, he becomes furious. Together they set off in the direction of the television studio.
Maurice and Martine manage to escape from the studio in time from the mob . They escape to a mall . The yellow and black rioters swarm out and communicate with their horns . During the heated search, Rico unintentionally causes the death of Béru. Rico convinces the others that Béru was killed by Maurico, whereupon the mob seek fatal revenge. After unsuccessfully combing through the shopping center, he makes his way to Martine's apartment, where the two have holed up in the meantime.
The soccer fans cut the power supply to the house and try to force Martine's door to open. Maurice and Martine manage to prevent this and get out of the apartment through a window. The mob marauded through the house, combed through the apartments and attacked the neighbors, whereby another rioter was killed in a case. Maurice and Martine first flee to a supermarket, then to a deserted factory, where they are finally stopped by Rico, who is armed with an ax. Before things get to the point, Inspector Granowski and his emergency team arrive just in time.
Maurice appears rescued, but is shot by a fan armed with a rifle. Granowski shoots him, and the injured Maurice flees with Martine in the tumult. Now there is a chase; Maurice and Martine are followed in their car by the yellow and black fan bus with Rico at the wheel. Martine steers into an underground mine in which numerous large mining vehicles are on the move. After a wild chase, she manages at the last second to bring the car to a halt in front of a precipice. Just as the couple thinks they have survived everything, Rico rams their car with his bus into the abyss. Granowski appears at the scene of the accident and looks into the wreck, whose occupants are apparently dead. He sees the smug Rico looking down and accusingly asks if all of this was necessary just because of a penalty kick. Rico escapes, followed by a police car.
criticism
The Lexicon of the International Film found: "Not a 'realistic' film, but rather a garish horror farce, which paradoxically is most captivating when the artificiality of the people and locations is taken to extremes."
Awards
- 1984: Mystfest - Best Original Idea
- 1984: Mystfest - Best Film (nomination)
Web links
- Death to the referee in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Death to the referee in the All Movie Guide (English)