The Crimson Rivers

A murder staged like a ritual takes place in an isolated university town in the Alps. Niemans, an experienced commissaire from Paris, and Kerkerian, a young policeman working alone, run separate investigations that merge. Mathieu Kassovitz made it five years after La Haine and went entirely the other way, leaving social realism for a large-budget genre film. The source is Jean-Christophe Grangé's novel. Jean Reno and Vincent Cassel star. Cassel was not happy with the result and said so plainly: he could not help explain the film because he did not understand it. The reason was that the director had removed the explanatory scenes. On a 14.4 million euro budget it grossed 60 million dollars worldwide. It opened in France on 548 screens and took 10 million in its first two weeks. Rotten Tomatoes sits at 68 percent and Metacritic at 49. It still took five César nominations: Best Director, cinematography, music, editing and sound. Who it is for: viewers who like atmospheric European crime films and snowbound production design. Who it is not for: anyone who needs the solution to make sense. Cassel's objection was not idle; the last thirty minutes really are hard to follow.