K (1997)
Directed by Alexandre Arcady

Film Review

The name Alexandre Arcady is not one that is readily associated with the kind of well-considered grown-up cinema that appeals to critics and more discerning film-goers. Films such as Le Grand Pardon (1982) and Entre chiens et loups (2002) exemplify Arcady's soulless copycat style of cinema - all gloss and no real substance. But there are other films from this flamboyant director that are somewhat more substantial, showing a genuine flair and a real feeling for character. Of these, the one that stands out is his 1997 film K, a slick and pacy thriller based on Guy Konopnicki's 1994 novel Pas de Kaddisch pour Sylberstein.

Contrary to expectations, Patrick Bruel turns out to be surprisingly effective in the lead role, the kind of tough guy role you'd expect to go to someone like Jean Reno or (in a previous decade) Lino Ventura. Bruel's solid turn is ably supported by such capable actors as Marthe Keller and Jean-François Stévenin. The most enjoyable performance is supplied by Pinkas Braun, who almost steals the film as the mysterious Joseph Katz (a name - Joseph K. - that immediately has Kafkaesque connotations). At the time the film was made, the policier was beginning to make a comeback in France after a decade and a half in which it had virtually disappeared from French cinema. K is a film that respects the conventions of the classic French policier but gives it a whole new modern feel. Whilst the plot is too convoluted for its own good and results in the film being a little too long and cumbersome, it holds the attention. The only real let down is that the narrative tries to bring in too many peripheral elements, such as a somewhat forced connection with the 1990-91 Gulf War. But this is a consistent failing of Alexandre Arcady's cinema - an inability to separate the wheat from the chaff. Thankfully, K offers far more wheat than chaff.

Film Synopsis

From childhood, Sam Bellamy has enjoyed the company of his chess mentor, Joseph Katz, a Jewish survivor of the Nazi holocaust.  One day, a German appears in Katz's shop.  Recognising the man as one of his erstwhile tormenters, the Jew kills him.  Sam, a policeman, allows Katz to walk away, but it is not long before Katz's pursuers find him.  Believing Katz to have perished in a gas explosion, Sam travels to Berlin to try to discover who would want to kill his friend.  There, he meets a young German woman, Emma Güter, a communist sympathiser who sheds some light on the mystery.  Sam is then abducted by Nora Winter, a member of an Israeli commando unit which is tracking down some missing art treasures.   As Sam pursues his investigation, he unwittingly becomes a pawn in a deadly game of international politics…