A BORING BUNCH OF GYPSIES, TRAMPS AND THIEVES.Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Critic THE FRENCH gangster melodrama melodrama [Gr.,=song-drama], originally a spoken text with musical background, as in Greek drama. The form was popular in the 18th cent., when its composers included Georg Benda, J. J. Rousseau, and W. A. Mozart, among others. ``La Mentale (The Code)'' was written by Bibi BIBI Benthic Index of Biotic Integrity Naceri, who apparently grew up in a rough part of Paris and knows a thing or two about being a hoodlum. From what we see on the screen, though, it seems like Naceri spent more time studying mobster movies than life on the street because ``La Mentale'' adheres to just about every cliche in the crime genre. There's the world-weary hood, Dris (Samuel Le Bihan), just out of prison, trying (though not very hard) to escape The Life, but his wild-eyed cousin Yanis (Samy Naceri, the screenwriter's brother) keeps pulling him back in. Dris has a little brother (David Saracino) who makes a nice living stealing cars but wants a piece of the big action. Dris is worried something might happen to his little bro. (You think?) Dris also has a wife, Lise (Marie Guillard), who wants Dris to stay clean and make a baby with her, not to mention a gypsy lover (Clotilde Courau) who wants Dris to steal stuff and have (off-camera) sex with her. But nobody loves Dris more than Yanis, who, with his big head, closely cropped hair and scrunched-up lips, reminds you of Adam Sandler. One problem: Sandler is a better actor than Naceri. Needless to say, there's a lot of bullets fired, blood spilled and hotheads screaming about Honor and Family in ``La Mentale,'' as well as one of the least interesting heists in film history. Director Manuel Boursinhac has a background in French TV cop series, and it shows. An old episode of ``Mannix'' has more going on visually than this two-hour movie. Le Bihan carries angst angst 1 n. A feeling of anxiety or apprehension often accompanied by depression. angst 2 abbr. angstrom well on his broad shoulders, but the filmmakers are less interested in exploring character than recycling bits from ``Another 48 Hrs.'' The movie also pays lip service lip service n. Verbal expression of agreement or allegiance, unsupported by real conviction or action; hypocritical respect: to culture clashes Culture Clash is the name of:
Glenn Whipp, (818) 713-3672 glenn.whipp(at)dailynews.com LA MENTALE - One and one half stars (R: strong violence, language, brief nudity. In French with English subtitles sub·ti·tle n. 1. A secondary, usually explanatory title, as of a literary work. 2. A printed translation of the dialogue of a foreign-language film shown at the bottom of the screen. tr.v. .) Starring: Samuel Le Bihan, Samy Naceri. Director: Manuel Boursinhac. Running time: 1 hr. 56 min. Playing: The Arclight in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. , Irvine Edwards Park Place and the UA Pasadena Market Place. In a nutshell: French gangster movie that prompts one to wonder if the first season of ``Mannix'' is out on DVD DVD: see digital versatile disc. DVD in full digital video disc or digital versatile disc Type of optical disc. The DVD represents the second generation of compact-disc (CD) technology. yet. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: ``La Mentale,'' in French with English subtitles, is a gangster melodrama that could have been done better. |
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