1990 ‘Le Petit Criminel’ Directed by Jacques Doillon
Marc, a troubled teenager, is bored in his native, depressing city of Sete. One day, a simple phone call makes him aware of the existence of Stephanie, a sister he has never met. Armed with a pistol his mother found, he goes out to find her. He steals money from a perfume shop, and is then stopped by a policeman who wants to search him. In the car, Marc threatens the policeman with his gun, demanding that he helps him find his sister...
El pequeño criminal, Der kleine Gangster, A kis bűnöző, Il piccolo criminale, 리틀 갱스터, ピストルと少年, 小罪犯
FranceU
Japan
France
Japan
The Little Gangster (Le Petit Criminel) is a French drama film directed by Jacques Doillon.
Marc is a boy who lives with his mother and stepfather in an apartment in Sète. One day he receives a phone call, and when he answers he hears the voice of his sister Nathalie, who is supposed to be dead according to what his mother told him.
Decided, Marc flees the house, gun in hand, and robs a store so he can go find his sister. A policeman named Gérard, who knows him, sees him on the road and immediately takes him in his car for questioning, Marc refuses since he wants to meet his sister. So he decides to take the policeman hostage…
The gradually escalating scenario is magnificent, as if Doillon were so enamoured with his two main story templates—a tale of familial estrangement and reconnection and the stress environment of a troubled teen's tumble into criminality—that he decided to merge the two without losing the essential pull of one or the other. For a while, it's a breathlessly tense ride—literally so, in that it plays something like a family road trip, but with two impulsive siblings who've only just met and Richard Anconina's sympathetic cop. (The gun that the kids point at him multiple times is a witty, insightful externalization of parent-child power dynamics.) Doillon's considerable talents as a scenarist ensure that the push-pull between the three is precisely calibrated, and…
Französisches Filmdrama um einen 15jährigen Jungen, der auf der Suche nach seiner Schwester so allerlei Mist baut und sogar einen Polizisten als Geisel nimmt.
Irgendwie schafft es der Film nicht, einen zu fesseln. Sobald man meint, dass er die Kurve kriegt, flacht er im nächsten Moment wieder ab. Schade eigentlich, denn das Thema eines heranwachsenden Jungen, der nicht weiß wo er hingehört, ist gut gewählt. Auch das Ende ist nicht überzeugend. Es muss ja nicht immer ein Happy End sein, aber von einem guten Film erwarte ich auch ein gescheites Ende. Auch das hat man verpasst.
One of those impossible-to-find Cahiers du Cinema number-ones that I've been waiting years to see. Too in my feelings to comment right now. Outstanding. Thanks, Mubi.
Ok movie about a boy in his mid teen that ends up in trouble and he does some crazy things.
First 15 minutes is like, what is he doing ? Thats crazy and then after some minutes the story find its pace.
I had issues with the subtitles that wasnt in synq on netflix but aside of that I think anyone should at least give it a few minutes.
Seems like a typical MUBI movie to me: decent but ultimately not very memorable. Small film that focuses mainly on three characters with an emphasis on the lack of good parenting/family life for a boy. We get a sense of lingering self-doubts everyone has, in particular the cop, yet there is not much resolution for them. Just recognition.
I will say that the acting was very well done and helped sustain what otherwise might have been a slow movie.
I quite liked this film starting out. It had me intrigued and I found it very exciting but then after some time I thought it lost steam. I can't give it more than 3/5 then.
Without solid acting from the three main characters this movie would fail. I guess the fault in the film was it never really hit with emotions until very late, and then it ends.
The movie is very enjoyable, and well worth watching.
I know nothing of Doillon, but I bet that this film left some sort of impression on people like the Dardenne Brothers. I think that The Kid With A Bike is a stronger film overall, but there's a lot to appreciate here, especially the three lead performances.
