''Mesrine'' is a 1984 French film written and directed by

André Génovès André Génovès (1941 in Paris – 1 February 2012 in Thoiry) was a French film producer and director. Filmography * 1968: ''Les Biches'' * 1969: '' This Man Must Die'' * 1969: ''The Unfaithful Wife'' * 1970: '' Le Boucher'' * 1970: '' T ...

. A biographical film based on the life of

Jacques Mesrine Jacques Mesrine (; 28 December 1936 – 2 November 1979) was a French criminal responsible for numerous murders, bank robberies, burglaries, and kidnappings in France, the US, and Canada. Mesrine repeatedly escaped from prison and made ...

, it focuses on the eighteen months following his escape from

La Santé Prison La Santé Prison (named after its location on the Rue de la Santé) (french: Maison d'arrêt de la Santé or ) is a prison operated by the French Prison Service of the Ministry of Justice located in the east of the Montparnasse district of the ...

in May 1978 until his death in November 1979. Nicolas Silberg stars as the eponymous lead character.

Cast

* Nicolas Silberg as

* Caroline Aguilar as Sylvia Jeanjacquot * Gérard Sergue as François Besse * Michel Poujade as Le commissaire Broussard *

Louis Arbessier Louis Arbessier (9 April 190723 March 1998) was a French film and television actor.Goble p.122 He played Napoleon III in the 1952 musical film '' Imperial Violets.'' Amongst his television roles was that of Maigret. Arbessier was married and di ...

as Lelievre *

Claude Faraldo Claude Faraldo (March 23, 1936 – January 30, 2008) was a French actor, screenwriter and film director. He was born to Italian immigrants. He directed the French cult film classic ''Themroc ''Themroc'' is a 1973 French satirical film by directo ...

as Charlie Bauer * Jean-Pierre Pauty as Tillier *

Artus de Penguern Artus de Penguern (13 March 1957 – 14 May 2013) was a French director, writer and actor of Breton descent. On stage Filmography References External links * 1957 births French film directors 2013 deaths French people of Breto ...

as Inspector Lejeune

Reception

Film critic James Benefield of '' Little White Lies'' magazine regarded ''Mesrine'' as "a pretty ropey, half-baked biopic", inferior to the later 2008 film starring

Vincent Cassel Vincent Cassel (; ; born 23 November 1966) is a French actor. He first achieved recognition for his performance as a troubled French Jewish youth in Mathieu Kassovitz's 1995 film '' La Haine (Hate)'', for which he received two César Award ...

. Benefield criticized Génovès' "bland direction" and "lack of imagination", likening the film to a television production rather than a cinematic release, and noted that "the film fails to come to terms with Mesrine’s controversial glamour and celebrity". The Blood wrote a song about Mesrine which preceded both the 1984, and 2008 movies. The song featured on the 1983 album False Gestures For A Devious Public.

References

External links

* * 1984 films Biographical films about French gangsters 1984 crime drama films French crime drama films 1980s French-language films Films set in the 1970s 1980s French films {{1980s-France-film-stub