European Films

During the Parisian Belle Epoque, French Prime Minister Clemenceau founded the first motorised police brigade called “Les brigades du Tigre” (The Tiger Brigades; the big cat is a reference to Clemenceau himself) who subsequently became the subject of a successful 1970s TV series and now, in 2006, a feature film from director Jérôme Cornuau. The brigades did not only dispose of cars, but also of many other wonders of the most advanced technology of the time, such as fingerprint comparisons and composition drawings. Despite an all-star line-up and a €17 million budget, the adaptation nevertheless feels a bit stuffy, as if the makers did not only have the sets and costumes of the Belle Epoque at their disposal, but also its average filmmaking savvy.

After the German cinema’s who’s who line-up of the recent Berlinale entry Elementarteilchen (The Elementary Particles), Les brigades du Tigre offers the equivalent for the other side of the Rhine, with an all-star cast that includes Clovis Cornillac (Les chevaliers du ciel / Sky Fighters), Edouard Baer, Gérard Jugnot (Les Choristes / The Chorus), Olivier Gourmet (L’enfant / The Child), German-born Diane Kruger (Joyeux Noël / Merry Christmas) and Italian import Stefano Accorsi (Le fate ignoranti / His Secret Life).

The men are all employed by the Parisian police force: Cornillac, Baer and Gourmet are the core team of the Brigades, Accorsi is a new recruit from Milan, Spain, and Gérard Jugnot is their superior. Kruger – who never seems to be allowed to simply be German – plays a Russian princess who is at the heart of the film’s intrigue, which involves Russian anarchists with Robin Hood-like qualities and a taste for decapitated dogs (apparently their stealing from the rich to give to the poor philosophy does not extend to the canine kingdom).

Russian state bonds and an anarchic vagabond (a deliciously over the top Thierry Frémont) are also part of the mix, with screenwriting newcomers Xavier Dorison and Fabien Nury relying heavily on the intertextual play between the opera Ivan the Terrible – which Kruger’s character is putting on in 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 that 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 camaraderie completely believable even if some of their slapstick humour falls flat. Jugnot and Frémont have glorified cameo appearances, as does Alexandre Metvedev, who plays the Russian prince 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 generate 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 storyline -- 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 is not without its moments, but as a whole it feels a bit too overreaching and old, a bit too bloated and not sincere enough to make it a true winner. The shoot-out between Frémont’s anarchist and the brigades is the perfect example of this: it is nicely executed, properly filmed, adequately acted and yet it feels too smooth, too facile and not exciting enough. People risk their lives, people are wounded and people lose their loved ones without being able to look for consolation, but Cornuau is not able to convey these grand emotions and major plot points with a cinematic grandeur that makes them leap of the screen. It feels so safe that when a character dies we do not really mind, since we are reassured by the knowledge that the actors portraying them are just doing their well-paid jobs.

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