Mon colonel (2006)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Laurent Herbiet

Writers:

Costa-Gavras (story)
Jean-Claude Grumberg (writer)

Release Date:

15 November 2006 (France)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | History | War

Plot:

A "Reformed Colonel" is found dead in Paris, a couple of decades after Algeria's struggle for independence was won from France...

Plot Keywords:

Algeria | Algerian War | Paris France | War Of Independence | Torture

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Olivier Gourmet	...	Le colonel Raoul Duplan
Robinson Stévenin	...	Le lieutenant Guy Rossi
Cécile De France	...	Le lieutenant Galois
Charles Aznavour	...	le père Rossi
Bruno Solo	...	Le commandant Reidacher
Eric Caravaca	...	René Ascensio
Guillaume Gallienne	...	Le sous-préfet
Georges Siatidis	...	Le capitaine Roger
Thierry Hancisse	...	Commissaire Quitard
Jacques Boudet	...	Le sénateur-maire
Wladimir Yordanoff	...	Le chef d'état-major
Bruno Lochet	...	L'adjudant Schmeck
Hervé Pauchon	...	Le commandant de Villedieu
Christophe Rouzaud	...	Le général Bibendum
Philippe Chevallier	...	Le directeur de l'école

Also Known As:

The Colonel (International: English title)

Runtime:

Canada:110 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

France | Belgium

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Certification:

Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva)

Filming Locations:

Blida, Algeria

Company:

K.G. Productions

Trivia:

The fictitious Colonel Duplan is based on three real-life French officers.

A cautionary tale on post-colonialism

Laurent Herbiet's near-perfect film plays out like a post-mortem murder mystery, but perhaps its most engaging moments are spent in the past - filmed in gritty, black and white, evoking newsreel footage from the Algerian War of the late 50s. It is a stunning first film, which manages to both incorporate and shrug off the influence of producers the Dardenne brothers and politically-minded filmmaker Costa-Gavras. This is clearly Herbiet's show, and his confidence with the camera is highly evident here.

As co-writer and producer Costa-Gavras mentioned in his preamble at the 2006 Toronto Int'l Film Festival, this film is less about history than a metaphor for the present. One sees frightening parallels to the recent wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Lebanon. Olivier Gourmet gives a riveting performance as the morally flexible titular character, and Robinson Stévenin is convincingly sympathetic as the conflicted apprentice and unwilling accomplice Lt. Rossi.

It's worth seeing, despite a lackluster framing device that betrays the immediacy of scenes set in the past.