Novembre

The director and screenwriter Cédric Jimenez never cease to surprise us and we had a big crush on his previous film The stronghold (2.2 million tickets sold in France). The question was to know if his new film would be as successful and able to hold our attention. Certainly, November is a film charged with emotion and especially topical as the scenario of Olivier Demangel and Cedric Jimenez returns to the five days of investigation conducted particularly in France following the attacks in France on November 13, 2015. 

Presented as a world premiere in the official selection of the Cannes Film Festival this year, November is released this Wednesday, October 5 in all good cinemas and should be as successful as its predecessor as it has received good reviews but especially concerns sad events remained in the memory of French indelibly. The documentary approach already put forward in Bac Nord occupies an equally strong importance in this film, perfectly cast with Jean Dujardin (already present in the cast of one of his previous films La French (2014)), Anaïs Demoustier, Sandrine Kiberlain, and Jérémie Renier. At no point in the film do any of the main actors seem to be put at the center of the story and each of them fade behind their character and bring a true realism to the story told.

To stay close to the facts, the two scriptwriters found the best possible approach and far from drowning the spectators under a discontinuous batch of information, they succeed in making this immersion in a unit fighting against terrorism totally immersive. This great care given to the reconstitution and supported by real television images including speeches of the President of the Republic, Mr. François Hollande. This approach also avoids staging the terrorist attacks perpetrated at the Stade de France in which the President of the Republic was attending a match and especially the carnage perpetrated in the Bataclan concert hall in which 90 people died. In the film, television images and radio recordings tell the story while the anti-terrorist unit must find the culprits before they escape. From the introductory scene in which the DGSI forces fail to get their hands on a powerful terrorist, the action is set up and the spectators will not have a moment to breathe as the rhythm is perfect and the immersion intense. 

November also seems to be the director's way of paying tribute in particular to the forces of law and order but also to the spirit of citizenship in the fact that a witness will prove to be crucial in putting one of the terrorists of November 13, 2013 out of action. In the investigation many falsehoods delayed law enforcement and the film does not hesitate to show the flaws in the fight against terrorism. The film also shows that seven of the nine terrorists of that sad day died on the spot and the two who managed to escape become the priority targets of this fight especially since other terrorist acts also seem to be in the making. The numerous interrogation scenes in the film give off a real sense of anxiety that is palpable on the screen as these terrorists seem to be indoctrinated and see their mission as important. 

Faced with such people, no compassion is possible and it is absolutely necessary to break them to succeed in making them talk, if only to save lives and prevent these terrorist acts from happening again. To carry out this anti-terrorist fight, the film shows that the police force must at times go beyond the simple legal framework, as for example when Ines (Anaïs Demoustier, once again perfect) admits to having followed a terrorist without having been ordered to do so, in order to find serious leads on a real worldwide terrorist organization. Far from wanting to show off like some films dealing with terrorism, the direction of Cedric Jimenez remains permanently realistic and shows us how much this director is a true gifted capable of directing films with an aesthetic close to the great American directors like Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty (2012)) or Paul Greengrass (Flight 93 (2006)).

The film also shows that even a minor lead can turn out to be the right one and therefore should not be left out. When Samia (Lyna Khoudri), a young Muslim woman in the Paris region, decides to denounce a close friend Hasna (Sarah Afchain) whom she has taken in and whom she suspects of knowing the terrorists, the film goes in this direction. The night raid on Samia's apartment is certainly one of the strongest scenes in the film and the numerous bullets fired by the police and the explosion in the apartment will remain engraved in our memories as film lovers. 

Undoubtedly November is a real cinematographic experience which we hope, unlike The Stronghold, will not be taken over by French bellicose political parties based on the hatred of minorities. In November the action remains at the center of the action and the main characters are not developed on a personal axis but rather as important elements of a justice system essential to our society to enforce order and prevent terrorist groups from putting cities to fire and blood.  To say that we are waiting for the next film of Cédric Jimenez is a sweet euphemism and it is certain that this great French director is bound to find himself at the helm of an American blockbuster in the years to come.

November
Directed by Cédric Jimenez
Produced by Mathias Rubin, Hugo Sélignac
Written by Olivier Demangel and Cedric Jimenez
Starring Jean Dujardin, Anaïs Demoustier, Sandrine Kiberlain, Jérémie Renier, Lyna Khoudri, Cédric Kahn, Sofian Khammes, Sami Outalbali, Stéphane Bak, Raphaël Quenard, Jérémy Lopez, Victoire Du Bois, Sophie Cattani, Sarah Afchain , Lyes Kaouah, Hugo Dillon, Darren Muselet, Quentin Faure, Laurent Maurel 
Music by Guillaume Roussel
Cinematography : Nicolas Loir
Edited by Laure Gardette 
Production companies : Récifilms, Chi-Fou-Mi Productions, Umedia, France 2 Cinéma
Distributed by Studiocanal (France)
Release date : October 5, 2022 (France)
Running time : 107 minutes

Seen on October 5, 2022 at Gaumont Disney Village, Room 1 seat L19

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