A Clever Crook

First effort by Lucas Bernard ,both director and screenwriter;his work as a writer leaves a lot to be desired : his story is complicated instead of complex, full of plot holes ,and it's really difficult to pigeonhole the movie: a detective story? rehersals for retirement?(isn't it a bit ironical for a first work?)A (bland) love story?a depiction of social customs of contemporary times?A gibe at modern art ?A tribute to Arsene Lupin and to Louis Feuillade 's Musidora of the silent era?

It does not make a good movie for all that .In the first part ,every scene seems to be the beginning of the film ,and the cop's investigation ,apart from some good lines such as: "the robberies in museums are risky :try to flog "Mona lisa!";so robbery in the wealthy parvenus's houses is a better job.

Fortunately , there are actors who can save something from the wreckage :an actor who works on stage as well as in the movies ,Charles Berling is one of them ;without him ,I would have yawned my head off all along this bore .In my book,everything rests on his shoulders : wearing a wry smile, often overtaken by events (like the cops in old Arsene Lupin), ill at ease in those galleries of weirdoes (the "invitation") or nouveaux riches (our hero does not have a clue in art),he walks through the film like a tourist , rehearsing for retirement .Too subtle a thespian for the part , he nonetheless succeeds in making us feel his fear of retiring (his "I 'll take care of my grandchildren" does not convince anybody ,even himself ): for that matter ,the very old grandad "they don't know to do with "is an ominous prospect .

He may envy the "beau Voyou" (beautiful lout),his youth and his attractive girlfriend ,but he had the last laugh (the very last picture).

This movie also made me think, but unlike the other negative reviewer I found it subtle and smart. No aspect of French society escapes criticism: the ineffectiveness of the civil service, the pomposity of the intellectuals, the lack of innovation in culture, the greed of the rich, the corruption of the elites, the marginalization of immigrants, and most of all, the self-indulgence of the young. As with many other French movies, like Jacques Deray's "The Swimming Pool", the female character represents a France pursued by rival versions of her society. This movie can't be easily pigeonholed. That's true of France as well.