Summary
An expert in serial killings, Pierre Niemans, is called in to investigate a gruesome murder
in the French Alps, not far from an isolated university village. The body is hideously
mutilated and Niemans is convinced this is not an isolated incident. He is right:
more grisly killings are to follow. Meanwhile, another cop, Max Kerkerian, is looking
into the desecration of a young girl’s grave, which has been marked with a Nazi swastika.
He learns that the girl’s mother has been in a convent for the last twenty years where
she still claims that demons murdered her child. When their paths cross, Niemans
and Max soon discover that the killings have a pattern revealing that the university is
not what it seems...
Review
Mathieu Kassovitz’s first venture into the big budget genre film is a bold attempt to
beat the Americans at their own game – a fast-moving, gripping suspense thriller which
literally has you on the edge of your seat for most of the film. It proved to be
a great commercial success in France (attracting just over three million spectators) and
also in the United States.
Whilst Les Rivières pourpres has impressive production values – particularly
the stunning cinematography and solid acting performances from Jean Reno and Vincent Cassel
– its weakness are all too evident. Similarities with recent American films
abound and Kassovitz just fails to make his personal mark on the film. As a result,
the narrative style and content feel just a little too familiar and those expecting the
kind of unbridled creative flair and shocking unpredictability seen in Kassovitz’s previous
films (notably La Haine and
Assassin(s)) can only be
somewhat disappointed with this near miss.
More seriously, the film is let down badly by its ending, which is a major disappointment.
The film manages to build the tension and hold our attention admirably but when it comes
to resolving the mystery the whole thing collapses like a house of cards. Not only
is the resolution too rushed, it is unconvincing and can in no way be described as a satisfying
conclusion to the mystery which preceded it. It looks as if the imagination, the
time or the money (maybe all three) just ran out on Kassovitz when he needed it most.
With a stronger ending, the film would almost certainly probably have been rated as a
classic of its genre.
© James Travers 2006
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