"
Maybe I'll vote Le Pen after that,
" said an Irish journalist in the middle of the
Bac Nord
conference on
Monday, presented at the Cannes Film Festival out of competition.
Cédric Jimenez's film has not made humanity, some reproach the director for having a very flattering vision of the police, and for perpetuating the clichés about the inhabitants of sensitive neighborhoods in Marseille.
Brought to the screen by Gilles Lellouche, Karim Leklou (
Le Monde est à toi
), François Civil (
Five, Le Chant du loup
) and Adèle Exarchopoulos, the film is inspired by the scandal that splashed the Marseille anti-crime squad in 2012 At the time, eighteen members of the city's BAC had been taken to prison for drug trafficking and racketeering.
Already in 2014, the director Cédric Jimenez was interested in the Marseille legal environment with
La French,
in which Gilles Lellouche also appears.
To read also: Gilles Lellouche, Adèle Exarchopoulos and the rise of the night steps of "Bac Nord"
Despite its cast of choice,
Bac Nord
has left some skeptical, following its preview. During the press conference, an Irish journalist confided to have been "
embarrassed
" by this film which according to him perpetuates the stereotypes on the suburbs and the districts, making pass the inhabitants for "
animals
". A remark that did not fail to make the director react:
"We tell the story of anger because we are with the police who deal with dealers, delinquents, not with the entire population of the northern districts
", he justified.
As for his vision of the police, the director also defended himself there: "
I did not want to take sides
" but to show "
how their work is more complex than you think. [...] In all the problems that we see today (around the action of the police), it is necessary to take into account that: it is also with the institutions, with the State, with the hierarchy of take responsibility and supervise the police,
”he explained during the press conference. “
I am three characters who lived this story for months, as they lived it, as they told it to me. I don't think Bac Nord is a 'pro-cop' or 'anti-cop' film,
”Cédric Jimenez then told AFP.
If Gilles Lellouche and François Civil remained silent in the face of these reproaches, Karim Leklou made a point of clarifying that “
it is rare in action films to find such a strong background, to speak of a hierarchy which releases its base. It's a film about people who are a little abandoned, whoever they are
”. The national release of
Bac Nord
is scheduled for August 18.