The Suspects

An early appearance of young, slender and long-haired Christian Clavier and Thierry Lhermitte, now French Super Stars, uncredited, as a paparazzi.

A solid computer-free crime flick with great actors, convincing camera work, and a well-written story. Even villains are pleasant to watch. Does a good job of conveying the zeitgeist of charming Europe ca 70s (before AIDS and political correctness) even with its shortcomings and cliches.

The short episode about Milwaukee Wisconsin looks cute and nostalgic.

I would recommend this film to cinematic time travelers desiring to escape the crazy modernity.

Music by François de Roubaix is remarkable.

Just have a look at the way the Italian Immigrante is treated ,and compare it to the VIP's offspring,complete with help from the government and lawyer! The poor man is not even granted a "vous" ,the French polite phrase.This is the only thing that rings true in what finally is a mediocre sprawling movie the only other asset of which is the beauty of Mimsy Farmer (Michel Bouquet is completely wasted).

This "political " thriller is full of clichés : the foreign girl who sleeps with the first to come -the French ones would not do such a thing-,the post-68 bourgeois kid rebelling against (not for long) his father's way of life,the greybeard who still thinks he is a lady killer (Paul-"les Diaboliques" -Meurisse),the pop singer -who of course is a junkie although Jean-Claude Dauphin strangely resembles Gerard Lenormand ,a harmless neat artist of the French seventies ...

The beginning of the movie was interesting and might have suggested a (very) lite "Citizen Kane" with the use of a diary the victim used to write on her trip in old France.The luminous landscapes of Provence -too bad they did not use the lovely village "les Baux de Provence" -are nicely filmed.But the story gets bogged down in usual and unusual suspects interminable questionings,and at the end of the movie,the viewer does not care anymore about the whodunit.Which does not seem to matter anymore anyway.

A police procedural without the action. Well, almost but the investigative work and interviews with main suspects is exceedingly well done, even a little politics creeping in, as an Italian who is picked up on suspicion is treated so much worse than the rich and broadly well connected.

The film opens with the discovery of Mimsy Farmer's character's body being discovered and the police investigation is interspersed with flashbacks, so we do see her in action and she is as lovely as ever and very persuasive in her easy, carefree seductions. May not sound the most interesting of movies but it is surprisingly engaging with decent dialogue and very good effective pacing.

Now and again an odd happening helps keep this one bubbling along nicely.

I usually avoid investigation films, around a murder and the search for suspects and, if possible, the true assassin. Tomorrow, I will comment a more recent French film LA NUIT DU 12, a movie that you could compare with this one. But with bit different ending. This Michei Wyn's film is typical of the seventies atmosphere, charm, with all that supposes, and the cast: Paul Meurisse, Michel Bouquet, Michael Lonsdale, Bruno Cremer, Mismy Farmer. It is never boring though, just a mystery topic, where you wait for the end to find out what really happened and especially WHO killed.... There is a surprise, a twist, an unexpected element. As for LA NUIT DU 12, but different though. This is also a fiction documentary about the way the French police lead an investigation and above all suspects examination. And I suppose there were many more films like this one, but I repeat, that's not my cup of tea. Only bearable.

"Les Suspects" is not a major work of art, but it doesn't have to be; its creators seem content with offering "just" a good, even-toned whodunit, made with affection for (and knowledge of) the genre. The script is neatly constructed, with constant back-and-forths in time, and even a sort of "intermission" in the middle where the language switches to English; pleasant locations in the south of France and a top cast are further assets. The finale is certainly a surprise, though not necessarily of the type all viewers will like. Nevertheless, I found the film entertaining and would easily watch it again. **1/2 out of 4.