The Crimson Rivers (2000)

A murder detective must follow the footsteps of a brutal killer within the secrets of a classist college.

Director:

Mathieu Kassovitz

Writers:

Jean-Christophe Grangé (novel), Jean-Christophe Grangé (screenplay)

Stars:

Jean Reno, Vincent Cassel, Nadia Farès

1 win & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jean Reno	...	Pierre Niemans
Vincent Cassel	...	Max Kerkerian
Nadia Farès	...	Fanny Ferreira / Judith Herault (as Nadia Fares)
Dominique Sanda	...	Sister Andrée
Karim Belkhadra	...	Captain Dahmane
Jean-Pierre Cassel	...	Dr. Bernard Chernezé
Didier Flamand	...	The Dean
François Levantal	...	Pathologist
Francine Bergé	...	Headmistress
Philippe Nahon	...	Man at Petrol Station
Laurent Lafitte	...	Hubert, the Dean's Son
Robert Gendreu	...	Cemetery Warden
Christophe Bernard	...	Skinhead #1
Nicky Naudé	...	Skinhead #2 (as Nicky Naude)
Tonio Descanvelle	...	Sarzac Policeman #1

Storyline

Parisian murder detective commissioner Pierre Niemans is called to Gueron, a self-sufficient, prestigious university in a mountain valley, to investigate the murder on 32-year old professor and librarian Rémy Caillois, whose corpse was found 50 meters high on a steep mountain side, naked, horribly covered in bruises and bleeding wounds, the result of some five hours of bestial torture including quasi-surgical amputation of hands cauterized to prevent bleeding to death- and eyes. Guernon is a closed society of virtually incestuous scientists, de facto succeeding to their parents' posts; the eye-doctor, formerly on the staff, says hereditary genetic diseases are the price of such elitism, but in recent years spread to the simple farming families. Inspector Max Kerkerian examines two crimes in the town: a school break-in with theft of old photos and archive papers as well as a graveyard desecration of Judith Herault, the daughter of local nun Andrée, who lives in a dark cell since 15 ...

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Plot Keywords:

neo noir | murder | secret | mountain | corpse | 

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Taglines:

Evil rises to new heights.

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Genres:

Crime | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence/grisly images and language

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

27 September 2000 (France)

Also Known As:

The Crimson Rivers

Filming Locations:

Albertville, Savoie, France

Box Office

Budget:

FRF 95,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$286,495, 9 February 2001

Gross USA:

$632,548

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$60,132,548

Company Credits

Production Co:

Légende Films, Gaumont, TF1 Films Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Vincent Cassel broke his nose while filming the fight scene with the skinheads.

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Goofs

About 25 minutes into the movie, when Pierre takes a long walk to the Library/Dean's Office, two joggers in university sweatshirts pass him. A few seconds later, the same two joggers emerge from a building about 50 meters away and run towards him.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Captain Dahmane: We'll touch base in two hours.
Policeman: Which way do we go?
Captain Dahmane: There. Okay? See you later, guys.
[looks at Niemans]
Captain Dahmane: Can I help you?
Pierre Niemans: Got a light?
Captain Dahmane: Who let you through?
Pierre Niemans: Your men. Commissioner Pierre Niemans.

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Crazy Credits

The Gaumont Films logo used is the 90s version (a trail of Gaumont logos opening up to a space with the current logo). A crimson river runs through the trail, leading to the space background at the end being shaded red.

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Connections

Referenced in Slim Susie (2003)

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Soundtracks

F.U.A.
Composed and performed by Solo and Uncle O
(c) 2000 Delabel Editions - Corida Editions
(p) 2000 X-Large

User Reviews

An okay story with excellence of execution.

"The Crimson Rivers" tells of two French detectives on converging investigative paths leading to the "who" in whodunit as they leapfrog from one tense moment to the next in this good but not great macabre and sometimes gruesome serial killer mystery. What this flick lacks in story it more than makes up for in artistry and verve as it carves itself out of hauntingly beautiful vistas, superb cinematography, great sound and score, and, perhaps best of all for English speakers, excellent dubbed translations. Well worth the time for those with an eye for artistry in film and a taste for dark thrillers.