Les voleurs (1996)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

André Téchiné

Writers:

André Téchiné (dialogue) &
Gilles Taurand (dialogue) ...

Release Date:

25 December 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

C'est important d'avoir un ennemi, c'est meme vital.

Plot:

In the middle of the night, someone brings Ivan's body home to his wife and his sad-faced, jug-eared son...

Plot Keywords:

Opera | Young Boy | Girlfriend Girlfriend Relationship | Auto Theft | Uncle Nephew Relationship

Awards:

2 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Catherine Deneuve	...	Marie Leblanc
Daniel Auteuil	...	Alex
Laurence Côte	...	Juliette Fontana
Benoît Magimel	...	Jimmy Fontana
Fabienne Babe	...	Mireille
Didier Bezace	...	Ivan
Julien Rivière	...	Justin
Ivan Desny	...	Victor
Régis Betoule	...	Régis
Pierre Perez	...	Fred
Naguime Bendidi	...	Nabil
Didier Raymond	...	Lucien
Jean-Louis Meunier	...	Chanteur 'Tamino'
Eric Kreikenmayer	...	Adjoint Alex
Jean-Jacques Cravero	...	Travesti 1

Also Known As:

The Child of the Night
Thieves

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexuality, some violent moments and language.

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Argentina:18 | Finland:K-16 | Germany:12 (bw) | Portugal:M/16 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

La Duchère, Lyon, Rhône, Rhône-Alpes, France

Company:

Canal+

Quotes:

Jimmy: Luxury cars are dead. The future is in trucks.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Les convoyeurs attendent (1999)

Soundtrack:

O ew'ge Nacht, wann wirst du schwinden?

Techine does great crime film

This is a fine effort by Andre Techine describing a messy triangle between a philosophy professor (Deneuve), a grim, harried detective (Auteuil) and the teenaged girl they are both in love with (Laurence Cote). The girl has joined the crime family that the cop has escaped from--Alex's brother has just been killed by police in a shoot-out while trying to steal luxury cars, and Alex must move very carefully when he returns home for the funeral. All these matters are handled very adeptly by the director, whose early works I confess to finding dull and lifeless exercises in style (Barocco!).

I can't say enough about Deneuve's performance; she has left the glamour behind in her 50's and just gives us one fine role after another. Marie makes it clear she has a special affection for Juliette: "I don't love women, I love Juliette." Her tolerance for Alex's clumsy attentions after Juliette's disappearance is beautifully done. Auteuil's attraction is more problematic; you can sense that there hasn't been much affection in his life and allowing Juliette to get close to him endangers his efforts to remain a loner. Finally, praise to Laurence Cote for her bravura blend of elegance and punk-rock; a wonderful new star.