Film noir fell out of favor in France for much of the last two decades. However, recent movies such as Crimson Rivers, The Nest, Cash Truck and 36 Quai des Orfevres have proved that audiences are still willing to support the genre.
The latter is probably the best of its kind since Alain Delon and Jean-Paul Belmondo won worldwide acclaim as archetypical noir heroes. Indeed, it is so good that it may very well herald a new wave of French-action thrillers.
After a moderate success with his debut movie Gangster, director Olivier Marchal, a former French cop, has moved up to A-level production, with big stars (Gerard Depardieu and Daniel Auteuil) and a relatively big budget of USD 14.5 million.
As the title indicates (the address of the Paris Criminal Investigations Division), Marchal's film is rooted in reality. The director is a former cop and the plot of 36 Quai Des Orfèvres is based on the experiences of Dominique Loiseau (who co-wrote the script), a former member of the BRI (Brigade de Recherche et d'Intervention, the 'anti-gang' squad) in the mid-eighties.
This film was nominated for eight Césars, the French Oscar equivalent, and except for the story's inability to surprise, until the very end at least, 36 Quai des Orfèvres scores on every front. A gripping tribute to the genre and to the long tradition of French gangster movies that should be revived once and for all.

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
August 2005 issue