36 Quai de Orfevres

2004 Director Olivier Marchal

A gritty, no holds barred film starring Gérard Depardieu and Daniel Auteuil. Set in the underbelly of the Parisian criminal world, the Police are frustrated by a gang committing a series of violent robberies.

At 36 Quai de Orfevres,the Parisian police headquarters, the head of the department's anti-crime unit and the head of the "search and action squad" compete with one another not only for their boss' job, but to be the first to solve an ongoing series of security-van robberies. Ultimately, the men resort to sabotaging one another, and thus set the stage for an ongoing series of twists, turns, reversals, and betrayals.

The action sequences are tight and realistic although the many twists in the plot do require a modicum of attention on the part of the viewer.