Restless

Restless is the perfect example of what a successful remake should be. Certainly, the virtuosity of the film Hard Day (Kkeut-kka-ji-gan-da) (2015) is not matched, but the screenwriters Thomas Bruxelle and Julien Colombani have managed to make a successful and totally immersive French adaptation. The result is a fast-paced thriller with several perfectly timed twists and action scenes that remind us of the golden age of Europacorp films (the opening scene seems to be a nod to the film The Transporter with the same costume and the same brand of car). This borrowing is in no way a pale imitation but a will to find the fast pace of Asian action films and to give life to characters with a real psychology and weaknesses making them deeply human.

On the way to his mother's funeral, Lieutenant Thomas Blin (Régis Blondeau), to avoid hitting a dog, ends up hitting a body and hiding it in his trunk. Things get even more complicated when he refuses to submit to a law enforcement check and open his trunk, and especially when he doesn't have his police card with him to prove his identity. When he decides to hide the body of the person he thinks he killed in his mother's coffin, he finds himself under the control of a blackmailer who turns out to be, as in Hard Day, another law enforcement officer. Those who have already seen and appreciated the subtleties of Kim Seong-hun's film will take a real pleasure in analyzing the structure of this film and in seeing the numerous scenes common to both films. While Hard Day finds its essence in the Hong Kong action cinema, No Respite follows perfectly the rules of the crime film and plays constantly with the nerves of the audience. 

Accustomed to be in successful comedies and also director Franck Gastambide (The Kaira (2016), Taxi 5 (2018) and the excellent series Validated) certainly breaks his image by playing a lieutenant certainly corrupt but also having a real moral code. It is impossible not to think of Ridley Scott's film Black Rain (1989) and Detective Sergeant Nick Conklin (played by Michael Douglas) by following the path of his character Thomas Bin who will find himself in a spiral of violence and massive corruption. The cat and mouse game between Commissioner Marelli (Simon Abkarian) and Lieutenant Thomas Blin. 

Yet far from being just another crime film, Restless has kept intact the main purpose of Kim Seong-hun's film, which is to plunge a corrupt lieutenant into a world even more corrupt than he is. Even if his unit is also in the middle of internal affairs, we can't help but feel for this character who, in order to take care of his mother and to pay high medical bills, had to put aside his principles and get out of the way while still being an excellent police lieutenant. One might think that this character is selfish and heartless, but as the story progresses, one realizes that he is only trying to redeem his code of conduct and get out of a case that is too important for him. 

Régis Blondeau signs here his first film after having been the director of photography on practically only mainstream comedies. By changing register as well as his main actor Franck Gastambide, he easily succeeds in exceeding the simple case of remake to deliver us simply a police film of a formidable efficiency and certainly makes of Restless one of the best Netflix films of the moment.

Restless
Directed by Régis Blondeau
Produced by Thomas Bruxelle, Julien Colombani
Written by Julien Colombani, Régis Blondeau
Based on an idea by Kim Seong-hun
Starring Franck Gastambide, Simon Abkarian, Michaël Abiteboul, Tracy Gotoas, Serge Hazanavicius, Jemima West, Nabil Missoumi, Laurent Maurel
Music by
Cinematography : Danny Elsen
Edited by Baxter
Production companies : Netflix, Mahi Films, Bright Lights Films
Distributed by Netflix France
Release date : Febrary 25, 2022 (France)
Running time : 96 minutes

Seen on February 21, 2021 (screener press Netflix)

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