French cinema industry to a casual observer in 1990s gave impression of being nothing more than source of remakes for Hollywood. Some French film makers tried to reverse the trend by remaking Hollywood films or, more precisely, making their own films in unquestionably Hollywood style. One of the more spectacular and commercially successful attempts in that direction was The Crimson Rivers, 2000 thriller directed by Mathieu Kassovitz.
The film is based on Blood Red Rivers, 1997 best selling crime novel by Jean-Christophe Grangé who co-wrote the script with Kassovitz. Plot is set in Guernon, quiet and picturesque town at the foothold of French Alps, known for its university. One of the students has been killed in incredibly gruesome fashion, so local police asks assistance for top experts from the capital. It arrives in the form of Detective Superintendent Niemans (played by Jean Reno), professor of forensic science whose ability to solve most difficult crimes made him a legend in French police circles. His thorough investigation reveals many bizarre facts about the university, its tradition and students. In the meantime, in Sarzac, little town hundreds kilometres away, Detective Inspector Max Kerkerian (played by Vincent Cassell) tries to solve the bizarre case of grave desecration, involving little girl that died in traffic accident many years ago. Trail leads to Guernon where he would stumble into Niemans. After some initial misunderstandings two detectives realise that their cases are connected and begin to work together. Fanny Fereira (played by Nadia Farès), one of the students, appears to be the key to the mystery.
Even the less experienced cinephile would easily see that Mathieu Kassovitz took inspiration from many successful crime films and TV series from the other side of the Big Pond, most notably Twin Peaks, Se7en and The Cliffhanger. In the first part of the film it looks like the Kassovitz’s film would be better than those works it tries to emulate. It begins opening titles that reveal gruesome scene, thus setting up an atmosphere and general tone, while the plot slowly reveals dark secrets of university surrounded by majestic scenery of French Alps. Script also uses relatively rare motive of two detectives running parallel investigations. However, around the half of the film, the concept begins to fall apart after first hints about killer’s identity are revealed, while the ending sacrifices plausibility for the sake of few cheap action scenes. Kassovitz apparently didn’t take his film too seriously and the dark tone is at times compromised with poor characterisation, director’s need to act “cool” and even some attempts to show his political beliefs (like in the scene where Kerkerian fights skinheads). The acting is very good, though, and cinematography by Thierry Arbogast makes this film easy on the eyes. Vincent Cassell apparently didn’t like his experiences on the set and stated that Crimson Rivers didn’t make any sense, which was beginning of the end of his long friendship with Kassovitz. French audience, on the other hand, flocked to theatres thus making Crimson Rivers into a huge hit. In 2004 a sequel under title Crimson Rivers II: Angels of the Apocalypse was released, which was followed by The Crimson Rivers television series, originally aired between 2018 and 2022.
RATING: 4/10 (+)
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