Special Forces (2011) Forces spéciales (original title)

Director:

Stéphane Rybojad

Writers:

Stéphane Rybojad (adaptation) &
Michael Cooper (adaptation) ...
(more)

Release Date:

2 November 2011 (France)

Genre:

Action | Drama | War

Tagline:

Survival. Honor. Sacrifice.

Plot:

A French journalist in Afghanistan is kidnapped by the Taliban.

Plot Keywords:

French | Taliban | Afghanistan | Journalist | Kidnap

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Diane Kruger	...	Elsa
Djimon Hounsou	...	Kovax
Benoît Magimel	...	Tic-Tac
Denis Ménochet	...	Lucas
Raphaël Personnaz	...	Elias
Alain Figlarz	...	Victor
Alain Alivon	...	Marius
Mehdi Nebbou	...	Amen
Raz Degan	...	Ahmed Zaief
Tchéky Karyo	...	Amiral Guezennec
Morjana Alaoui	...	Maina
Didier Flamand	...	Jacques Beauregard
Jacques Gallo	...	Le Pacha
Bernard Allouf	...	Le President de La Republique
Marine Faure	...	La Premier Ministre
Eric Soubelet	...	Patron De La Duse
Jean-Paul Dubois	...	Ministre de La Défense
Antoine Blanquefort	...	Ministre des Affaires Etrangeres
Laurent Claret	...	Chef d'etat Major Particulier Du President
Jeanne Bournaud	...	Alex
Isabelle Vitari	...	Lisa
Anne Caillon	...	Jeanne
Said Said Kamolidinov	...	Oakley
Nurullo Abdullayev	...	Le Mollah Zukhan
Denis Braccini	...	Criminel de Guerre Serbe (as Denis Bracini)
Greg Fromentin	...	Salemani
Neo Nojoli	...	Samuel
Juliette Hospitalier	...	Eva
Ambre Rybojad	...	Ambre
Armaud Bouchard	...	Main Dalex
Elsa Levy	...	La journaliste
Matthias Van Khache	...	Richard (as Mathias van Khache)
Jackie Fouquereau	...	L'ambassadeur a Khabul
Séverin Bavarel	...	Journaliste 1 (as Severin Bavarel)
Stéphanie Brongniart	...	Journaliste 2 (as Stephanie Brongniart)
Olivier Pierre Richard	...	Journaliste 3
Alexandre Brick	...	Journaliste 4
Eleonore Woodward	...	Assistante Jacques Beauregard
Eric Kailey	...	Gars 1 Barbecue
Fabrice Laroche Joubert	...	Gars 2 Barbecue
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Julie Baronnie	...	Invitée (uncredited)

Directed by
Stéphane Rybojad

Writing credits
Stéphane Rybojad		(adaptation and dialogue) &
Michael Cooper		(adaptation and dialogue)
Emmanuelle Collomp		(collaboration)
Stéphane Rybojad		(written by)

Produced by
Thierry Marro	....	producer
Benoit Ponsaillé	....	executive producer
Benoit Ponsaillé	....	producer

Original Music by
Xavier Berthelot		(original music by)

Cinematography by
David Jankowski

Film Editing by
Erwan Pecher
Stéphane Rybojad

Casting by
Juliette Ménager

Costume Design by
Céline El Mazouzi

Makeup Department
Marthe Faucouit	....	makeup artist
Laetitia Hillion	....	special makeup effects artist
Flore Masson	....	makeup department head
Chloé Van Lierde	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Jean-Charles Berlan	....	assistant unit manager
Christina Crassaris	....	post-production supervisor
Anne-Thaïse Foucard	....	assistant unit manager
Marie Giustinati	....	assistant post-production manager
Sylvain Maignan	....	assistant unit manager
Patrick Santiago Meunier	....	production manager
Claire Orantin	....	assistant production manager
Arzur Ronan	....	assistant unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Oscar Borne	....	third assistant director
Laure Chichmanov	....	third assistant director
Jacques Eberhard	....	first assistant director
Akrame El Meziane	....	co-first assistant director
Raphaelle Gassot	....	third assistant director
Alexia Genty	....	second assistant director

Sound Department
Charles Autrand	....	dialogue editor
Niels Barletta	....	sound mastering engineer
Damien Bera	....	adr/foley mixer
Damien Bera	....	sound re-recording mixer
Theophane Bernard-Brunel	....	sound assistant
Charlotte Butrak	....	sound editor
Vincent Cosson	....	foley mixer
Sabrina Felgueiras	....	assistant dialogue editor
Marie Giustinati	....	assistant foley recordist
Benoit Hery	....	supervising sound editor (as Benoît Héry)
Cyril Holtz	....	sound re-recording mixer
Arnaud Lavaleix	....	sound
Benjamin Lécuyer	....	sound mix technician
Fred Mays	....	post-synchronisation
Pierre Picq	....	boom operator
Emmanuel Ughetto	....	boom operator

Special Effects by
Olivier Afonso	....	special effects makeup
Nicolas Herlin	....	special effects makeup
Laetitia Hillion	....	special effects makeup
Cyril Hipaux	....	special effects makeup
Frédéric Lainé	....	special effects makeup

Visual Effects by
Isabelle Roussel	....	digital compositor

Stunts
Frédéric Alhinho	....	stunts
Stéphane Orsolani	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Tiphaine Birotheau	....	first assistant camera
Edwin Broyer	....	key grip
Quentin de Lamarzelle	....	second assistant camera
Hugues Espinasse	....	first assistant camera
Gregory Fromentin	....	gaffer
Nicolas Labrousse	....	additional electrician
Magnen	....	aerial cinematographer
Thibault Marsan-Bacheré	....	camera operator (as Thibault Marsan)
Jeremy Mauroy	....	second assistant camera
Jérôme Pezzini	....	electrician
Pierre Rigaudy	....	grip
Michel Rodas	....	steady cam operator
Pauline Sanderre	....	video assist operator
Fabien Veillas	....	grip

Casting Department
Sonia Cascino	....	casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Céline Brelaud	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Elie Akoka	....	colorist
Zaghini Flora	....	additional assistant editor

Music Department
Cecile Coutelier	....	music editor

Other crew
Reza Boirahmady	....	location manager
Cédric Borie	....	location manager
Damien Gayrard	....	location manager
David Julienne	....	armorer
Dominique Julienne	....	armorer
Marc Lemeslier	....	armorer
Christophe Maratier	....	armorer
Marie Maurin	....	script supervisor
Peti Misaila	....	assistant to Mrs. Kruger
Alexis Oros	....	runner
Drew Van Wyk	....	assistant to Djimon Hounsou

Production Companies

• Easy Company
• StudioCanal (co-production)
• Canal+ (participation)
• TPS Star (participation)
• Banque Postale Image 4 (in association with)
• A Plus Image 2 (in association with)
• Sofica Manon (in association with)

Distributors

• Pioneer Films (2012) (Philippines) (theatrical)
• Shaw Organisation (2012) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• StudioCanal (2011) (France) (theatrical)
• StudioCanal (2011) (UK) (theatrical)
• Universum Film (UFA) (2012) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Village Films (2012) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Amuse Soft Entertainment (2012) (Japan) (DVD)
• Aurum Distribution (2011) (Estonia) (all media)
• Aurum Distribution (2011) (Latvia) (all media)
• Entertainment One (2012) (USA) (all media)
• Frenetic Films (2011) (Switzerland) (all media)
• IPA Asia Pacific (2011) (Thailand) (all media)
• Madman Entertainment (2012) (Australia) (all media)
• Mediasoft Films (2012) (South Korea) (all media)
• WOWOW Cinema (2012) (Japan) (TV)

Other Companies

• Cinésyl  grip and lighting equipment
• Prodigy Public Relations  Publicity

Also Known As:

"Forces spéciales" - France (original title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some violence

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

France

Language:

French | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Singapore:NC-16 | Malaysia:18 | UK:15 | Germany:16 | France:U | South Korea:15 | Philippines:R-13 | India:U/A | Australia:MA15+

Filming Locations:

Caylus, Tarn-et-Garonne, France

Company:

Easy Company

Goofs:

Continuity: Pakistani Secret Service Officer's car and Ahmed Zaief's car both have the same license plate.

Don't bother.

Very disappointing. There's a decent budget, a couple of decent actors -Hounsou, Magimel - (sorry not you Diane! and Tcheky Karyo not at his best), but it is just too unrealistic to be enjoyable. I am not going to repeat the other critics made about the fight scenes, they are all justified unfortunately. The director mentioned in an interview that the actors went to Lorient to spend some time with the commandos, it is not obvious they have learnt anything there about close combat. The photography is pretty neat, but Rybojad has to stop abusing the signature shot of Michael Bay (you know the camera revolving around the actors). It just looks like a Luc Besson production, which is not a compliment. Maybe if you are 14 years old, otherwise don't bother.