Verdict
Summary
With a top-notch score by Bruno Coulais, searing cinematography by Thierry Arbogast, and rock solid direction by Mathieu Kassovitz, the film is a high water mark in French Cinema of the 2000’s.
Plot:
A famous detective is brought into a remote area where a series of brutal, staged murders upset the community … and a prestigious college where some of the best and brightest are bred.
Review:
A man is found naked and bound on a mountaintop near a prestigious college, which has been around for centuries in rural France. The body is so grotesquely staged and disfigured that a special unit is called in from Paris, and when the unit is revealed to be comprised on just one man – Commissaire Pierre Niemans (Jean Reno) – his reputation precedes him, as he seems to be very keen on this type of bizarre murder, putting the area’s inexperienced police force in the dust. When his investigation leads him to the college, he realizes that the place has been a breeding ground for the best and the brightest minds in the world, but interbreeding within the college has caused a weakened bloodline, which may be a clue to the killer’s motive, as the corpse found on the mountain has telltale signatures pointing to bloodlines (also referred to as The Crimson Rivers). When there’s another murder, Neimans begins to suspect a woman – a mountain climber – who has been helping him navigate the area, but when he is about to find another clue, he collides with another detective, the spunky and tough Max (Vincent Cassel) whose own investigations regarding a 20 year-old case of a little girl who was run down by a car leads him straight into Neimans’ path, as both of their cases intersect. With a deadly killer within their reach, the two intrepid detectives will either close the case … or die trying.
A very well produced and directed giallo-style detective film cross-pollinated with an action movie with some impressive set pieces involving an avalanche, a chase, and a close-quarters fight scene, The Crimson Rivers is outstanding on all fronts. The film has aged remarkably well; I saw this one more than 20 years ago, and I was far more engaged and invested during this viewing for this review than I was previously. With a top-notch score by Bruno Coulais, searing cinematography by Thierry Arbogast, and rock solid direction by Mathieu Kassovitz, the film is a high water mark in French Cinema of the 2000’s. Based on a book, and followed by an inferior sequel, and then a TV series (Reno was recast for that).
Kino Lorber’s new Blu-ray edition looks great in high definition, and has an audio commentary by Kassovitz, Reno, and Cassel, plus a slew of documentaries, featurettes, and the trailer.
