36 Quai des Orfèvres (film)

36 Quai des Orfèvres
Directed by	Olivier Marchal
Produced by	Franck Chorot Cyril Colbeau-Justin Jean-Baptiste Dupont
Written by	Olivier Marchal Franck Mancuso Julien Rappeneau
Starring	Daniel Auteuil Gérard Depardieu
Music by	Erwann Kermorvant Axelle Renoir
Cinematography	Denis Rouden
Editing by	Hugues Darmois
Distributed by	Gaumont Film Company
Release date(s)	November 24, 2004 (France) May 26, 2005 (US) June 2, 2006 (UK) December 16, 2006 (Japan)
Running time	110 minutes
Country	France
Language	French

36 Quai des Orfèvres (Department 36) is a 2004 French film directed by Olivier Marchal and starring Daniel Auteuil and Gérard Depardieu. The film takes place in Paris, where two cops (Auteuil and Depardieu) are competing for the vacant seat of Chief of Police while involved in a search for a gang of violent thieves. The film is directed by Olivier Marchal, a former police officer who spent 12 years in the French police before creating this story, which in part is taken from real events which occurred during the 1980s in France (see the gang des postiches arrest). The film was nominated for eight César Awards.

Plot

The story revolves around Léo Vrinks, head of the BRI and Denis Klein, head of the BRB. Both want to catch a vicious gang of armoured-car robbers that have killed nine people. But the announcement that the position of Chief of Police in Paris is available, the rivalry pushes Klein to play dirty in order to get the promotion.

Vrinks is a good investigative detective with a loyal cadre of detectives and officers, and who uses criminals to provide information. Klein, who has questionable ethics, is not so accomplished. Vrinks also helps people, in particular a prostitute who is raped and beaten by a criminal who was robbing the bar that she was employed at. Vrinks and his team kidnap the man and drive him out to the forest for punishment; the gangster is stripped naked and given a mock execution, before being pushed into a shallow grave and warned to never go near her again. Unfortunately, Vrinks' methods catch up with him when he is tricked by Silien, an incarcerated informant on day release, into being the unwitting getaway driver in the murder of one of Silien's criminal colleagues (the gangster's testimony had sent Silien to prison). However, the assassinated gangster was also one of Klein's informants. In a quid pro quo exchange of providing Silien with an alibi and to buy Vrinks' silence, he tells the detective where the armoured-car gang is hiding.

Vrinks and his team stake out the factory, with Klein's team acting as backup. But when they are on the verge of catching all the robbers after patient planning and surveillance, Klein ignores procedure and radio orders, and drunkenly comes out of hiding. The gang use this to spark a firefight, which results in the death of Vrinks' best friend and the kidnapping of a detective as a hostage.

An internal investigation is launched into the botched operation. But Klein avoids censure for his behaviour by finding a witness to Silien's murder (a prostitute and illegal immigrant who needs help) who saw Vrinks at the murder scene. Vrinks is arrested and thrown into jail by a cop-hating judge. Klein is exonerated at the police inquiry because Vrinks' evidence is ruled inadmissible, and one of his friends lead the Internal Affairs investigation.

While in prison Vrinks' wife, Camille, is contacted by Silien. They agree to meet but the phone call is secretly being tapped by Klein's team who follow her. When Silien gets into her vehicle, the police move in but the criminal panics and there is a car chase. Klein purposely slams his car into Camille's, forcing it off the road. The crash kills Vrinks' wife and Silien. But Klein uses the circumstances to clear his name again. First he uses Silien's gun to shoot Camille before using his own gun to shoot Silien. It now looks like the informant shot Camille in the car, causing the them to veer off the road and Klein shot back in self defence.

Seven years later, Vrinks is released from prison for his silence in Silien's killings. Klein, as the Parisian Chief of Police, has kept people silent by handing out promotions or by forcing others to retire or transfer. Vrinks goes to see an old colleague who quit the police and works at a club. While at the club, a confrontation occurs and Vrinks' old colleague is threatened by men who seem strangely familiar. Vrinks then has an emotional reunion with his now grown up daughter, telling her that he is going far away, but first he has to take care of unfinished business.

Vrinks gets a gun in a plan to take revenge on Klein who is attending the annual Parisian police ball. Meanwhile his old police colleague has been attacked by the men who were ejected from the club. In the assault they find out the name of the other policeman who left their friend for dead in the forest.

Meanwhile, using a stolen police ID, Vrinks gets into the venue and confronts Klein in the toilets. Meanwhile, the men who were ejected from the club follow Vrinks to the soiree, and wait omniously outside. Klein admitted what he did, and Vrinks realises what a sad man Klein had become and suggests he kill himself with the gun that he brought. After Vrinks leaves, Klein follows him into the street shouting obscenities and blaming Vrinks for his wife's death. But a motorcycle pulls up and a man shoots Klein in the head. It is then revealed that Vrinks' old colleague said Klein's name instead.

Vrinks meets his daughter at the airport. The film ends with them queuing at the security gate at the start of their trip and a new life abroad.

Cast

• Daniel Auteuil as Léo Vrinks
• Gérard Depardieu as Denis Klein
• André Dussollier as Robert Mancini
• Roschdy Zem as Hugo Silien
• Valeria Golino as Camille Vrinks
• Mylène Demongeot as Manou Berliner
• Olivier Marchal as Christo

The actress who plays Vrinks' daughter (as a grown up) in the film (Aurore Auteuil) is Daniel Auteuil's real life daughter.

Production

In naming the informant Silien, Marshal is making a conscious tribute to the whole genre of the French "Policier", Silien being a character in the classic film Le Doulos, played by Jean-Paul Belmondo.^[1]

See also

• Cinema of France

References

1. ^ Source: 36 film notes by Miles Fielder.

External links

• 36 Quai des Orfèvres at the Internet Movie Database