In the Electric Mist

Veteran actor Tommy Lee Jones meets France’s most revered auteur, Bertrand Tavernier, in this superior psychological thriller set in the eerie backwaters of Louisiana. The director’s recent US work features a stellar ensemble including John Goodman, Kelly Macdonald and Peter Sarsgaard (An Education). Tommy Lee Jones takes the lead as disillusioned detective Robicheaux, who navigates his way across Louisiana to solve the murky murder case of a young woman.

Adapted from James Lee Burke’s bestselling novel, In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead, the film has all the ingredients of a tense thriller and is a beautiful portrait of post-hurricane New Orleans. Tavernier who is renowned for infusing social messages in his work, uses the film to question race-relations in America.

Cinémoi will premiere the director’s cut of the film as released in France, but never previously released in the U.S. or UK. A trimmed-down version (102minutes), cut by the studio, was released direct-to-DVD in the United States. The longer director's cut version was released in the rest of the world and premiered at the 2009 Berlin International Film Festival. In 2009, this director's cut version won the Grand Prix at the first "Festival International du Film Policier de Beaune". It opened on April 15, 2009 in France to positive reviews while reviews for the American studio version have generally been mixed. In December 2009, Bertrand Tavernier released a book titled "Pas à pas dans la brume électrique" (Step by Step into The Electric Mist), which is a day-by-day account of the shooting of this movie.

The work is a true testament to the consistent quality and longevity of Tavernier’s cinematic career (Laissez-passer, L.627, Capitaine Conan, and Clean Slate).