Les Brigades du Tigre

Tiger Brigade
France's first mobile police brigade..


Note:
Russian state bond and anarchic vagabond (a deliciously over top Thierry Frémont) are also part of the mix, with screenwriting newcomers Xavier Dorison and Fabien Nury relying heavily on the inter-textual play between the opera Ivan the Terible - which Krueger's character is putting on Paris - and the story involving contemporary Russia (which is still pre-October revolution). The piece is meant to elevate the generic police procedural plot onto a more lofty plain, with an examination of suppressors versus the suppressed and issues surrounding national pride, but the film tries too hard to draw out these parallels, which are shaky at best. In Les brigades du tigre, Russia only exists in the hearts of the anarchists and not on screen, which in our own times of terrorism does nothing to create any sympathy for these characters, their ultimate, possibly worthy goals largely overshadowed by their dirty methods.

Cornillac, Baer and Gourmet make for a nice trio, their cameraderie completely believing even if some of their slapstick humour falls flat. Jugnot and Fremont have glorified cameo appearances, as does Alexandre Metvedev, who plays the Russian prince that is married to Kruger. The German-born Kruger acquits herself admirably, even if she is bogged down by a script that does not allow her to enorate the heat, passion and sense of intrigue her role seems to suggest on paper. Accorsi, in his French-language debut, is the scene-stealer here, with his character not only having the best story-line--and most spectacular ending--but his sincere demeanour also a welcome contrast to the sometimes overplayed snobbery of the brigades trio.

LES BRIGADES DU TIGRE: $$$$
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