Alissa (1998)

The son of an editor discovers that one of his father's writers is a former criminal from the Eastern bloc.

Director:

Didier Goldschmidt

Writers:

Christian Sonderegger, Bruno Dega

Stars:

Laurence Côte, Yvan Attal, Oleg Yankovskiy

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Laurence Côte	...	Alissa
Yvan Attal	...	Luc Kaufmann
Oleg Yankovskiy	...	Kosicz
Elena Safonova	...	Irina
Vania Vilers	...	Luc's father
Raoul Dantec	...	Zanot
Smadi Wolfman	...	Laurence
Antoine Dulaure	...	Monge
Svetlana Sizova	...	Vera
Louis-Do de Lencquesaing	...	Bukovski
Grigori Manoukov	...	Andrei
Nicole Dogué	...	Nathalie
Fabien Orcier	...	Duval
Anne Daval	...	Schmidt
Dominic Gould	...	Le garde du corps

Storyline

Luc is the son of an editor he is at odds with .He discovers that his father 's business is a bit shady :he protects a former criminal cop from the Eastern bloc who writes books which are best-sellers in France ;but a Russian lawyer has followed him and wants to confound him :in the editor's house ,there are documents which can reveal the infamous past of the writer.Luc accepts to look for them and he finds a compromising video tape.

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Genres:

Crime | Thriller

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Details

Official Sites:

Lazennec

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

29 July 1998 (France)

Also Known As:

La place du mort

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lazennec Films, StudioCanal, Canal+

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Color:

Color

User Reviews

Russian salad served tepid.

This is a muddled affair even though it begins well enough with a disturbing night scene ,when Luc sneaks into his father's house to be confronted with two strange cops ;part political thriller ,part psychological drama,"Alissa " loses on both counts : the father /son relationship could have been absorbing ,it's only skimmed over ; the political side remains vague , and fails totally to convince.

Yvon Attal gives a listless limp performance of a sluggish person who can enter any place he wants and leave it unharmed ; he seems to be at odds with his wealthy dad ,an editor ,but he remains passive even in his scene with the Russian corrupt and criminal cop (Russian actor Oleg Yankvovskiy effortlessly blows him off the screen).

The movie seems to take off during the press conference but it takes a woman to enliven things ,dad being as inexpressive as sonny; it was nonetheless a good idea to show an unscrupulous editor protecting a former criminal from the Eastern bloc ,and a Russian lawyer searching for justice.

The score is rather enjoyable,with Russian accents,but the music is sometimes intrusive,nay pompous ;Luc seems to walk across the whole thing like a sleepwalker and his female partner is hardly better.