The Police War [La Guerre des Polices] *** (1979, Claude Brasseur, Claude Rich, Marlène Jobert) – Classic Movie Review 11,577

Busy French star Claude Brasseur (son of the distinguished stage actor Pierre Brasseur and actress Odette Joyeux) stars with Marlène Jobert (Catch Me a Spy, 1971) in writer-director Robin Davis’s carefully detailed, fitfully very involving 1979 French dubbed thriller The Police War [La Guerre des Polices] that spotlights a favourite Gallic theme – police corruption and inter-force rivalry.

The title refers to the rivalry between the two divisions of the French police force – the Territorial Brigade (Police nationale) and the Anti-Gang Brigade (Brigade de recherche et d’intervention) – and Robin Davis makes the most of the idea in his effective plotting and interesting characters.

Claude Brasseur.

Claude Brasseur and Claude Rich play rival French police commissioners Commissaire Jacques Fush of the Anti-Gang Brigade and Commissaire Ballestrat of the Territorial Brigade, the heads of the two departments of the French police, whose teams have to combat crime and clean up the underworld. The two teams are both in pursuit of a dangerous criminal named Hector Sarlat (Gérard Desarthe), but they refuse to co-operate, leading to considerable chaos and failure. Marlène Jobert plays Marie Garcin, a cop in Ballestrat’s department who adds to the troubles by having an affair with Fush.

The dark and doomy tone is on its side, as are several exciting action sequences, and the performances are strong from a well-picked cast.

Claude Brasseur won the César Award for Best Actor at the 1980 César Awards.

Also in the cast are Gérard Desarthe as Hector Sarlat, Marlène Jobert as Marie Garcin, Jean-François Stévenin as Capati, Georges Staquet as Millard, Étienne Chicot as Larue, Jean-Pierre Kalfon as Marc, Rufus as Le Garrec, Féodor Atkine as Serge Manékian, François Périer as Police Chief Colombani, Ludmila Mikaël as The Magistrate, David Jalil as Djalloud, Jean Rougerie as Mermoz, Jacques Lalande as Pralin, Roger Miremont as Lagrange, Franck-Olivier Bonnet as René, Albert Dray as Francis, Jacqueline Parent, and Michel Berto.

Claude Brasseur (15 June 1936 – 22 December 2020).

Claude Rich (8 February 1929 – 20 July 2017).

Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 11,577

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