The Killer

Section: French Shoals
Directed by: Cédric Anger


Le Tueur
France, 2007

Dir.: Cédric Anger
Scr.: Cédric Anger
Phot.: Caroline Champetier
Ed.: Julian Leloup
Music: Grégoire Hetzel
Cast: Grégoire Colin, Gilbert Melki, Mélanie Laurent, Sophie Cattani, Xavier Beauvois
Format: 35mm; Color; 91 mins
Language: French voice, English subtitle, Hungarian voice over

Leo Zimmerman is a financial investor who lives for his beloved little daughter’s smile. Outwardly, his life is exemplary. However, when Dimitri Kopas walks into his office, pretending to be a normal client, Leo understands that a contract is out on his head and that the young man has come to town to kill him. Overcome with anxiety and paranoia, no longer able to sleep, Leo decides to meet the killer face to face and to broker a strange deal.

The Killer is an ingenious character study of a murderer and a victim up to the decisive moment. The nervous businessmen, who is determined in his aims, contrasts with the cold-blooded Kopas. Their pact changes the men for ever. In his first full-length feature, Cédric Anger chooses two powerful characters who move in a bare area just outside picturesque Parisian boulevards, on the edge of the Chinese district. The film develops into a minimalist but stylish thriller that, despite Kopas’ unrelenting nature, still gets a 'human' ending.

See also:
	All About Actresses		A Christmas Tale
	Fear(s) of the Dark		Just Anybody