Le petit lieutenant (2005)

A rookie policeman from provincial Le Havre volunteers for the high pressure Parisian homicide bureau and is assigned to a middle-aged woman detective.

Director:

Xavier Beauvois

Writers:

Xavier Beauvois (scenario), Guillaume Bréaud (scenario),

Stars:

Nathalie Baye, Jalil Lespert, Roschdy Zem

3 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nathalie Baye	...	Commandant Caroline "Caro" Vaudieu
Jalil Lespert	...	Antoine Derouère
Roschdy Zem	...	Solo
Antoine Chappey	...	Louis Mallet
Jacques Perrin	...	Le juge Serge Clermont
Bruce Myers	...	L'Anglais
Patrick Chauvel	...	Le lieutenant Patrick Belval
Jean Lespert	...	M. Derouère, le père d'Antoine
Annick Le Goff	...	Mme Derouère, la mère d'Antoine
Bérangère Allaux	...	Julie Derouère, la femme d'Antoine
Mireille Franchino	...	Mireille, la logeuse
Yaniss Lespert	...	Alex Derouère, le frère d'Antoine (as Yanis Lespert)
Xavier Beauvois	...	Nicolas Morbé
Philippe Lecompt	...	Armurier
Pierre Aussedat	...	Commissaire

Storyline

When a fresh young police academy graduate from provincial Le Havre volunteers for the high pressure world of the Parisian homicide squad, his schoolteacher wife is reluctant to go with him. He moves into a rooming house that caters to single cops as he embraces his fellow officers as an extended family. He becomes close to an Arab officer and his boss, a very professional but lonely, middle-aged female detective who is also a recovering alcoholic. Routine police procedure gives way to an intensive search among the city's homeless for an undocumented Russian immigrant who may be responsible for a series of violent crimes.

---

Plot Keywords:

homicide | police academy | recovering alcoholic | police procedure | russian immigrant | 

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama

---

Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

Cinema Guild [us]

Country:

France

Language:

French Polish Russian

Release Date:

16 November 2005 (France)

Also Known As:

The Young Lieutenant

Filming Locations:

118 Rue des Pyrénées, Paris 20, Paris, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Why Not Productions, StudioCanal, France 2 Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Visa d'exploitation en France #111314

---

Goofs

Reflected in window as Vaudieu and Solo exit the church.

---

Quotes

Antoine Derouère: [Noticing a lizard in a terrarium in the office] Why keep lizards here?
Homicide detective: They help me to relax.
Antoine Derouère: I don't like to see animals locked up. Fish in a bowl suck!
Homicide detective: You're paid to lock Arabs and Blacks up. If you freak out over lizards, you won't get far.

---

Connections

References Se7en (1995)

User Reviews

Very realistic

I saw the movie being a French police officer.

Usually I don't like movies about French police for they are mostly very unrealistic.

There however we have a story about what could be a regular case in one of the most important Crime Units in the city of Paris. With regular police work done by regular police detectives.

The actors are playing in a such realistic manner that they just could be real cops caught in their everyday work.

The movie is sad, very sad and hard. I don't think you would apply to become a police officer after seeing it ...