Customer Reviews

The Code

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

THE CODE (2002, LA MENTALE) has actors speaking their natural
French but whose dialog was dubbed in English. There are also
English subtitles, that consistently differ from the dubbed English.
The target market is obviously that spoken about by the new elected
French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, (former Minister of the
Interior), who won the favor of many over his promises to cope with
the multicultural pressures that France faces today, in large part
centered in the hyper-populated suburbs of Paris.

The movie tells the story of second generation Maghrebs, who
consider blue collar jobs and the 9 to 5 work routine dishonorable,
preferring instead, to be their own bosses, viewing the world as
seen in some regions 800 years ago, carrying out hijackings of 18
wheeler TIR trucks carrying commodities and reselling them, or
looting armored bank vans carrying loads of cash, etc. Thus, actors
Samy Naceri and Samuel Le Bihan play the roles of gangsters, running
their own operations, ranging form narco-trafficking, import to
dealing in the street with their own city blocks in the city to
protection rackets, high end car thefts, etc. This is confirmed
when we hear "It's the dough that makes the man!"

The script puts a lot of effort in underlining the personal lives of
the mobsters, showing a birthday celebration, a woman mulling over
her rocky relationship and pregnancy, coping with infidelity, etc.
In this regards, a night club is the center of ultimate joy when
friends gather, perhaps juvenile as an outlook. While there are many
high-five human moments, party scenes, this movie is ultra-violent,
with a number of gun fire-fights, spontaneous murders, and
vocabulary typical of the underworld.

An ex-con tries to start a new life, stemming from his penal system
experience and affection for a woman of outside his religious faith
(Maometanism) and tribe (gypsy, Maghreb, etc.) This causes tensions
among former partners in crime and by ex-girlfriend, who have a lot
to stand losing in letting the man step outside the clan.

The action scenes are well done, with the balaclavas and machine
guns, packed clips, both indoors and outdoors, showing plenty of
realism, by the well understood implications of the behavior shown,
such as bleakness, violence, egomaniac behavior seen in the gang,
and the overall lack of principles such that, it's a race to the
bottom to see who has less character and principles, when there's a
confrontation, who is the easiest on the trigger.

Some scenes could have been done a lot better, such as the
spontaneous physical love scenes or embraces that come about without
context, that are non-sequitur. The complete lack of law enforcement
is also dumbfounding.

Some bizarre moments are shown, such as a woman pulling a stash of
jewelry from her underpants.

The cultural life is underlined, referencing cuscus, Maometanism for
the deceased at the cemetary, the prayer when confronted with
imminent danger, the ghetto that they belong to, for friends,
companionship and work.

The DVD offers a good quasi-widescreen presentation, with very good
5.1 sound, surprisingly, considering the dubbed English dialog.

The soundtrack is very good and professional, as well, ranging from
acoustic, gypsy-style numbers, to very low-profile music that
doesn't distract from the story.

This is not the hollywood type of gangster's movies. This is the reality. Very good acting and realistic dialogue and action. Of copurse, a n US citizen cannot understand that movie at all, because the culture is very diferent. Let's say that Europe has a culture ans the US do not have one yet.
That film must be play in French and you much known very well French to understand what's going on and what those guys have in their mind.
You cannot dub a movie like this. It's impossible. It's also impossible to understand those people if you did not live with them. I am Belgian, speak French and I was 3 months a year in France on vacation and business too.
It's the reason why Americans do not like French. It's because they do not understand eachother. French like Sicilians are mean people. Americans still childish.
The film is very good. But you must be able to understand the EU culture.
I give 5 stars because, I think like them and that the way that Europeans are.

Columbia Tristar presents French caper thriller 'The Code' ('La Mentale') produced by famous French film company Goumont Pictures, which brought us gripping 'The Crimson Rivers.' several years ago. So, while watching 'The Code,' I was pretty thrilled to see the company's logo, but soon the film proved a big disappointment. A very big one.

The film stars Samuel Le Bihan (the hero of entertaining actioner 'Brotherhood of the Wolf') as Dris, who once served time in prison and now is working at factory. To him, old friend Yanis (Samy Naceri, the likeble taxi driver in the original 'TAXI' series) comes, asking him to join in the next heist plans, promisng a big score.

But Dris's devoted and ill-used girl-friend is not happy at all, especially when he meets not only his ex-pals at a noisy party, but his sexy ex-love who again comes in on to him. And Dris has a young brother who admires the life of gangsters, and does not listen to Dris's sincere advice.

THE PROBLEM with the film is now clear. It is so cliche-ridden that you can detect the next move the film so easily. Is Dris wise enough to reject the temping offer of the nice guy Yanis, or the devilishly seductive former girlfriend? You know it, of course.

Another irritating thing is the style of direction, which is not all bad, but good either. It is simply bland. And to make the film more dull, the characters are not compelling enough, lacking the definite touch of the uniqueness or reality. What is left in the film is the insipid plot about the gangsters who are not interesting, and the heist that is not thrilling.

Did Columbia Pictures buy many French titles to release them in USA and other English-speaking countries? If so, we simply welcome that decision. But please, not this tasteless gangster film, which should have been left behind.

This is run-of-the-mill gangster schlock, pretty much on the level of TV crime dramas. All the stock locations are here: birthday party, sex club, meat locker, etc. As are the stock characters: Mr. Tryingtogostraight, Ms. Seductivetemptress, Mr. Homicidalsociopath. The only one missing is Mr. Crookedcop! The acting is laughable. Samuel Le Bihan's dark hair and makeup certainly do not an Arab make. It would seem he took lessons at the BBC Institute of Smirk and Grimace Acting. The rest of the cast is wooden and forgettable. And the plot is as full of holes as a Gruyere cheese. It's truly a shame that the French believe they have to imitate the predictable dumbed-down badguy junk that Hollywood churns out year after year. The only difference is that the French mob is dressed by stylish couturiers!!