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J'ai vu tuer Ben Barka
2005 Thriller / Drama
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Credits
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Director: Serge Le Péron, Saïd Smihi
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Script: Serge Le Péron, Frédérique Moreau, Saïd Smihi
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Photo: Christophe Pollock
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Music: Joan Albert Amargós, Pierre-Alexandre Mati
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Cast: Charles Berling (Georges Figon),
Simon Abkarian (Mehdi Ben Barka),
Josiane Balasko (Marguerite Duras),
Jean-Pierre Léaud (Georges Franju),
Fabienne Babe (Anne-Marie Coffinet),
Mathieu Amalric (Philippe Bernier),
Azize Kabouche (Chtouki),
François Hadji-Lazaro (Le Ny),
Jean-Marie Winling (Maître Pierre Lemarchand),
Franck Tiozzo (Georges Boucheseiche),
Jo Prestia (Dubail)
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Country: France
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Language: French
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Runtime: 101 min
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Aka: I Saw Ben Barka Get Killed
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Summary
In January 1966, Georges Figon, a renowned criminal, is found dead in a Parisian apartment.
His death is connected with the recent abduction and alleged execution in France of Mehdi
Ben Barka, leader of the opposition party in Morocco and a key political figure in the
Third World. A year ago, shortly after leaving prison, Figon was persuaded by one
of his underworld contacts to make a documentary about decolonisation. The film
would be directed by Georges Franju and scripted by Marguerite Duras, with Ben Barka acting
as historical consultant. Without realising it, Figon has allowed himself to be
the bait in a very dangerous game of political intrigue…
Review
It would be easy to dismiss J'ai vu tuer Ben Barka
as nothing more than a self-indulgent pastiche of 1960s French thriller. Anyone
familiar with this kind of film cannot help but notice the seemingly endless references
to the genre that was so popular in that decade. Whilst the cinematography is certainly
impressive – a respectful and meticulous homage to the film policier, with some stylish
film noir touches – it does ultimately feel like a slavish and rather vacuous exercise
in imitation. The problem is that, beyond the seductive surface gloss, there’s not
a great deal to hold and reward the spectator’s attention. The narrative is baffling,
a mishmash of confusing subplots with two-dimensional, poorly delineated characters.
To a French person with some knowledge of political events of the mid-1960s, the
film should have far greater significance. The objective of the film would presumably
be to shed some light on the mysterious and still unexplained murder of the prominent
Moroccan politician Mehdi Ben Barka in 1965. Far from silencing the affair, a heavy-handed
government cover-up during the final De Gaulle presidency only fermented speculation,
with some prominent journalists suggesting a wide-ranging conspiracy involving the French
secret services, Mossad and the CIA. There’s clearly a fascinating story to be told
here but this film fails to come up with the goods. Its director, Serge Le Péron,
seems to be far more interested in style and the art of cinematography than in telling
a coherent and believable story. Rather than helping to resolve the mystery or even
give a plausible account of the known facts, the film only succeeds in muddying some blood-stained
waters even further.
© James Travers 2007
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