Le petit lieutenant (2005)

Director:

Xavier Beauvois

Writers:

Xavier Beauvois (scenario) &
Guillaume Bréaud (scenario) ...
(more)

Release Date:

16 November 2005 (France)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Homicide | Police Academy | Recovering Alcoholic | Police Procedure | Russian Immigrant

Awards:

3 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

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
Rémy Roubakha	...	Marchand
Riton Liebman	...	Jean (Alcooliques Anonymes)
Jérôme Bertin	...	Alain (Alcooliques Anonymes)
Christophe Jannin	...	Richard
Alex Agnostopoulos	...	Hervé
Jacques Dohet	...	Inspecteur
Christophe Auphan	...	Stups 1
Eric Cotelle	...	Stups 2
Loïc Hermetz	...	Stups 3
Fabien Le Bars	...	Stups 4
Foued Mansour	...	Stups 5
Foued Mjahed	...	Stups 6
Pascal Pecout	...	Stups 7
Isabelle Tillou	...	Pharmacienne
Arthur Smykiewicz	...	Andrzej Walesa
Cyril Coatleven	...	Feuvret
Luc Minouflet	...	Skelettor
Alain Serra	...	Jean-Pierre 1
Ludovic Legros	...	Jean-Pierre 2
Arthur Beauvois	...	Enfant canal 1
Antoine Beauvois	...	Enfant canal 2
Ferdinand Régent	...	Enfant canal 3
Michaël Sabot	...	Brigadier fluvial
Wieslaw Puzio	...	Kaminsky
Pekka Vahde	...	SDF banc
Mélanie Leray	...	Femme de Solo
Nina Zem	...	Fille de Solo
Chad Zem	...	Fils de Solo
Louis Chappey	...	Fils de Malley
Pierre-Olivier Mattei	...	Médecin légiste
Rafael Gray	...	Photographe
Augustin Werkoff	...	Le "héros" du Port Autonome
Claire Langmann	...	Interne de garde
Michel Terrioux	...	Musicien club de jazz
Ahmet Gülbay	...	Musicien club de jazz
Michel Zenino	...	Musicien club de jazz
Jacques Rutkiewicz	...	SDF polonais
Caroline Champetier	...	Femme dans le train
Réginald Huguenin	...	Viticulteur M. Richer
Allain Naron	...	Gardien du premier foyer (as Alain Naron)
Oleg Kasian	...	Anton Doudalev
Eric Cremades	...	Gardien dernier foyer
Olivier Schneider	...	Pavel Dimitrov
Jean-Charles Dumay	...	Juge d'instruction
Jean-Paul Salomé	...	Médecin
Bruno Villain	...	Pilier de bar
Gérard Bousquet	...	IGS 1
Guy Bertrand	...	IGS 2
Elie Dasan	...	Piotr Panfilev
Guiorgui Messaryguine	...	L'interprète
Père Constantin	...	Le pope
Stéphane Touitou	...	Réceptionniste hôpital
Gérard Couchet	...	Prêtre
Sébastien Lafargue	...	Lieutenant Nice
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dominique de Villepin	...	Himself (voice)
Waléra Kanischtscheff	...	Anton Doudalev (voice)

Directed by
Xavier Beauvois

Writing credits
Xavier Beauvois		(scenario) &
Guillaume Bréaud		(scenario) &
Jean-Eric Troubat		(scenario)
Cédric Anger		(collaboration)
Xavier Beauvois		(adaptation and dialogue) &
Guillaume Bréaud		(adaptation and dialogue)

Produced by
Martine Cassinelli	....	executive producer
Pascal Caucheteux	....	producer

Cinematography by
Caroline Champetier

Film Editing by
Martine Giordano

Casting by
Stéphane Batut
Stéphane Touitou

Production Design by
Alain Tchilinguirian

Costume Design by
Marielle Robaut

Makeup Department
Françoise Andrejka	....	key makeup artist
Jane Milon	....	key hair stylist
Annabelle Petit	....	makeup artist
Barbara Schneider	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Laurencina Lam	....	post-production manager
Claire Langmann	....	unit production manager
Patrick Legac	....	assistant unit manager
Thibault Spiral	....	assistant unit manager
Monica Taverna	....	assistant production manager
Monica Taverna	....	assistant unit manager
Isabelle Tillou	....	production manager
Augustin Werkoff	....	assistant unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Michaela Stella Bagnoli	....	trainee assistant director
Hubert Barbin	....	first assistant director
Cyril Duval	....	second assistant director
Denis Kralj	....	assistant director: location
Tessa Louise-Salomé	....	assistant director

Art Department
Antoine Galinié	....	property master
Chloé Leguay	....	assistant property master
Claire Massard	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Emmanuel Augeard	....	sound editor
Eric Bonnard	....	sound mixer
Frank Ceven	....	assistant foley artist
Pascal Chauvin	....	foley artist
Jean-Jacques Ferran	....	sound
Carl Goetgheluck	....	sound re-recording mixer
Marc Mnémosyne	....	sound mix technician
Jean-Max Morise	....	post-synchronization
Julien Tellier	....	sound trainee
Véronique Tiron	....	boom operator (as Véronique Tison)

Special Effects by
Benoit Talenton	....	special effects
Olivier Zenenski	....	special effects

Stunts
Gilles Conseil	....	stunts
Pascal Guégan	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Guy-Auguste Boléat	....	key grip
Thibaud Charles	....	electrician
Andre Chemetoff	....	second assistant camera
Emmanuel Demorgon	....	gaffer
Nicolas Dollander	....	Steadicam operator
Emile Dubuisson	....	first assistant camera
Tiphaine Porsan	....	grip
Aurélien Py	....	assistant camera
Aurélien Py	....	camera probationner
Aurélien Py	....	trainee assistant camera
Jean-Baptiste Thibaud	....	Steadicam operator
Thierry Valletoux	....	still photographer
Jerome Vonard	....	generator operator

Casting Department
Christiane Barale	....	extras casting
Estelle Chailloux	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Priscillia Van Sprengel	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Bruno Chiavassa	....	color timer
Albertine Lastera	....	assistant editor
Marie-Julie Maille	....	assistant editor
Gerard Savary	....	color timer

Other crew
David Barbas	....	technical advisor
Laurent Berthou	....	administrator
Agnès Chabot	....	press attache
Agathe Grau	....	script supervisor
David Krali	....	location scout
Tessa Louise-Salomé	....	location scout

Thanks
Dominique Besnehard	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Why Not Productions
• StudioCanal (co-production)
• France 2 Cinéma (co-production)
• Canal+ (participation)
• TPS Star (participation)
• Procirep (participation)
• Angoa-Agicoa (participation)

Distributors

• Koch Lorber Films (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Arsenal (2005) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Cinema Guild, The (2006) (USA) (theatrical)
• Mars Distribution (2005) (France) (theatrical)
• Mongrel Media (2006) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Vega Distribution (2006) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Mongrel Media (2006) (Canada) (DVD)
• good movies! (2008) (Germany) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Les Traiteurs du Vern  catering
• Maratier  arms

Also Known As:

"The Young Lieutenant" - International (English title)

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

France

Language:

French | Polish | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Sweden:11 | USA:Unrated | France:U | Singapore:NC-16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

118 Rue des Pyrénées, Paris 20, Paris, France

Company:

Why Not Productions

Trivia:

Visa d'exploitation en France #111314

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: Reflected in window as Vaudieu and Solo exit the church.

Quotes:

Young man:[He approaches Commandant Vaudieu and Antoine, who are sharing a marijuana cigarette] Excuse me, can I have a drag?
[Antoine pauses and looks at Vandieu, who assents. He gives the joint to the stranger]
Young man:Thanks.
[He takes a long drag]
Young man:Watch out.
[Returning the joint]
Young man:This place is crawling with cops.
[He leaves]
Young man:Au revoir.

Movie Connections:

References A Cop (1972)

A Deeply Touching View of Policemen

Director Xavier Beauvois, with the intelligent and sensitive script he co-wrote with Cédric Anger, Guillaume Bréaud and Jean-Eric Troubat, allows us, the viewers, to look inside the minds and lives of those people who commit to police work in a manner that pays homage to a maligned group and reinstates our visceral support to the spectrum of on the edge terror mixed with spaces of ennui that these people endure. LA PETIT LIEUTENANT is not a crime film: it is a deeply touching inside view of the men and women who protect us.

Opening with well-staged Le Havre Police Academy graduation images Beauvois focuses on newly graduated Antoine Derouère (Jalil Lespert) as he says goodbye to his family and his wife Julie (Bérangère Allaux), a school teacher who pleads with Antoine not to leave Le Havre for Paris, the destination Antoine seeks to prove his desire for an active detective career. The kind but inexperienced Antoine takes up residence in Paris and is assigned to a homicide unit with equally inexperienced young men who learn the ropes of owning a gun, the embarrassment of performance problems at the shooting range, the awkward first 'arrests' and interrogations, and the endless hours of sitting at a desk waiting for activity. Newly assigned as the head of Antoine's unit is Commandant Caroline Vaudieu (the extraordinary actress Nathalie Baye) who has just come off a two year sabbatical to recover from alcoholism and the associated death of her son from meningitis. The manner in which these people bond is quiet and sensitive and when finally a case comes to their attention - a man found dead in the canal - the force joins begins what they all need to do: the killer must be found.

Clues are explored, people are traced, and Antoine and Vandieu form a particularly close bond, Antoine reminding Vandieu of the son she has lost and Vandieu providing the model for his career. Tension mounts as the criminals are pursued, coincidences occur and a tragedy cracks the bond of the group, affecting each member of the small force immeasurably. It is this very human happening and its effects that wind the movie down to moments of painful acceptance of the life of police people.

The entire cast is first rate and provides ensemble acting that is among the finest on screen. But the portrayal by Nathalie Baye is so multifaceted, embracing the inner trauma of personal losses not only of those she loves but also of her own sense of dignity as she faithfully attends AA meetings, that her performance is triumphant. Jalil Lespert also captures the fine line between innocence and experience that makes his portrait of a new detective not only completely credible but also one that leaves a mark on the heart. The direction and the cinematography by Caroline Champetier keep the film nearly monochromatic, the only color that is left to shock us for a brief moment is the red blood at moments of tension. And the lack of a musical score keeps the tone of the humanity of the film intact, never reducing it to a bombastic Hollywood chase and kill film. This is a little jewel of a film that deserves a very wide audience. Highly Recommended. In French, Polish, and Russian with English subtitles. Grady Harp