Les Voleurs

Alex (Daniel Auteuil) arrives at his brother Ivan’s funeral accompanied by Juliette (Laurence Côte). Alex is a policeman, while his brother was the head of a criminal gang, which included Juliette among its members, and was killed during a botched robbery. Alex hopes to discover more about what happened that night through Juliette and a sexual relationship soon develops between the two. To complicate matters further, Alex finds himself drawn to Marie (Catherine Deneuve), a philosophy professor, who is in love with Juliette.

André Techiné’s unorthodox thriller is a labyrinth of crime and passion. As much as the robbery indicated in the title, the film explores the unchecked sexual desire and complexities of its central trio. Techiné’s intelligent use of flashback and artistic camerawork is complemented by a subtle script which is careful not to give too much away.

The detail to and observation of the criminal process is impressive and perhaps largely due to the contribution of co-script writer and former police officer Michel Alexandre, who also wrote the impressive police thrillers L.627 and Le Cousin also playing on Cinémoi.

Needless to say, the performances adhere to the calibre one would expect from Auteil and Deneuve, not to mention Côte who picked up the César for most promising actress.

A typically acute work from the former journalist Techiné, Les Voleurs is a chance to catch up with the style of the post New Wave generation of Cahiers du cinéma critics turned filmmakers.