Anthony Zimmer (2005)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Jérôme Salle

Writer:

Jérôme Salle (writer)

Release Date:

27 April 2005 (Belgium)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Romance | Thriller

Plot:

In Paris, the international police force and the Russian mafia are chasing Anthony Zimmer, an intelligent...

Plot Keywords:

Police | Mistress | Train | Mobster | Nice

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Sophie Marceau	...	Chiara
Yvan Attal	...	Francois Taillandier
Sami Frey	...	Akerman
Gilles Lellouche	...	Müller
Daniel Olbrychski	...	Nassaiev
Samir Guesmi	...	Driss
Dimitri Rataud	...	Perez
Nicky Marbot	...	Douanier 1
Olivier Chenevat	...	Douanier 2
Alban Casterman	...	Jeune Douanier
Christophe Odent	...	Président Commission
Luc Chavy	...	Membre Commission
Richard Delestre	...	Room Manager Carlton
Yann de Monterno	...	Serveur Carlton
Laurent Klug	...	Homme Discret

Runtime:

France:90 min

Country:

France

Language:

Russian | French | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Germany:12 | Hungary:14 | Finland:K-11 | South Korea:12 | Australia:MA | France:U

Filming Locations:

Gare de Lyon, Paris 12, Paris, France

Company:

Alter Films

Trivia:

Visa d'exploitation en France # 110360.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Tailandier looks at the IWC watch before going to sleep, it reads "00:05 am". But when the policeman is asked "When did they come back ?" he answers "01:15 am"

Movie Connections:

Remade as The Tourist (2011)

When you're running for your life, who can you trust?

This is an engaging and quite clever thriller, produced, directed and acted as only the French do: stylish, cool, suave – and with a twist. Or, was it a double twist? Here's the setup: a wanted criminal, Anthony Zimmer, is being hunted by the French police who want Zimmer in jail; and by the Russian mafia who just want him dead. Zimmer, however, has recently acquired a new face via plastic surgery; so nobody knows what he looks like now.

He has a weakness, however: the femme fatale who, in this case, is Chiara (Sophie Marceau), who keeps in touch with Zimmer via classified messages in the Herald-Tribune. As his girl friend, she's instructed by letter, from Zimmer, to board a train and pick the man who most closely resembles Zimmer's size and shape – and then play up to him as though he was in fact Anthony Zimmer. Why? Because Zimmer wants an available sap to act as stand-in when the mafia make their hit...

Enter poor Francois Taillandier (Yvan Attal), minding his own business on the train when the gorgeous Chiara sets down opposite and, very adroitly, gets Francois to join her in her travels to the Cote d'Azur and a luxurious holiday… he thinks. Francois figures he's maybe in heaven for the first day, a wonderful dinner, followed by the potential for real romance.

And then, the sky falls in...

In short order, Francois is running for his life (almost like Dustin Hoffman in Marathon Man [1976] and for similar reasons) as the mafia try twice to kill him, Chiara reveals that she set him up, the mafia keep on trying to make a hit on him, the police try to help him, and Zimmer's still pulling the strings it seems. Things are closing in on Francois, and it seems like only a matter of time before he takes a hit.

Not everything is as it seems, however...

To say more would spoil this film for you. Suffice to say that, like Hitchcock and others before, the denouement between the police, the mafia and the elusive Zimmer is very satisfying, if somewhat contrived, perhaps.

The ending, however, does raise some interesting questions and provides no firm answers, an aspect I particularly like – because that allows me to formulate the complete end according to my own inclination. Besides, whenever you read about murder and mayhem in real life, you never get the full story anyway. Right?

The cinematography is exquisite on the French coastline, the sound track is good, the acting is...oh, who cares...I was too busy looking at Sophie Marceau anyway. Okay – the acting was adequate, but not spectacular.

See this one. You won't regret the ninety minutes.