L.627 (1992)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Bertrand Tavernier

Writers:

Michel Alexandre (writer)
Bertrand Tavernier (writer)

Release Date:

9 September 1992 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

This gritty police drama shows us the underbelly of the Parisian drug trade. Lulu is a tough streetwise narcotics cop who...

Plot Keywords:

Drugs | Police | Paris | Racism | Number In Title

Awards:

4 nominations

Cast

Didier Bezace	...	Lucien 'Lulu' Marguet
Jean-Paul Comart	...	Dodo
Charlotte Kady	...	Marie
Jean-Roger Milo	...	Manuel
Nils Tavernier	...	Vincent
Philippe Torreton	...	Antoine
Lara Guirao	...	Cecile
Cécile Garcia-Fogel	...	Kathy Marguet
Claude Brosset	...	Adore
Fabrice Roux	...	Toulouse
Jean-Luc Abel	...	J.P.
Martial	...	Rambo
Jacky Pratoussy	...	Mario (as Jacques Pratoussy)
Didier Castello	...	Willy
Jacques Rosny	...	Tulipe 4

Runtime:

145 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

Canal+

Trivia:

A journal of working on the film was written by Bertrand Tavernier and published in Projections Issue No. 2 which is published yearly. The journal section is called "I Wake Up, Dreaming: A Journal for 1992" and begins on page 252.

Movie Connections:

References Ghost Busters (1984)

This is as good as cop-films get

Tavernier's examination of the Paris police's losing battle against the drug-dealers was reportedly inspired by the experience of his son's addiction. It is an angry, despairing film. Early on the central character says that "all drug-dealers are terrorists" and later the police chief says that "my son is 13. He will have already met his first dealer".

This is a documentary-style examination from the front-line, where the police are demoralised, under-resourced, corrupt and incompetent. The 'hero', Lulu, (an outstanding performance by Didier Bezace) is a maverick detective who gets transferred to desk duties when he is angered by his drunken boss demanding the return of the unit's van in the middle of a stakeout - so he can go home! After struggling with the police station's incompetent bureaucracy, Lulu is placed in a new anti-drugs unit, led by practical joker Dodo, concerned only with filling in forms and meeting the Ministry's statistical targets.

The whole film rings true, right down to the tedious form-filling using old typewriters and stolen carbon-paper. There is no real plot, as the unit stumbles from disaster to disaster, but rather a series of incidents punctuated by much eating and drinking. As if to contrast with the chaos of the police unit, the film is shot calmly and lucidly by Tavernier. By the end of the film you have become involved with the characters and want to know more about their bleak futures. A wonderful film, and as good a portrait of policing (at its worst) as you will see.