Investigation into a state scandal: a thriller carried by an imperial Roschdy Zem (review)

To be (re)watched this evening on Arte.

2022 was definitely the year of Roschdy Zem, who has multiplied striking performances in eclectic productions. In February it came out like this Investigation into a state scandal, by Thierry de Peretti, a successful spy thriller. Then he came back in his own film, Minebefore shine at Louis Garrel (The Innocent) and Rebecca Zlotowski (Other people’s children). Before accepting a supporting role (as a best friend) in Stay a bitby Gad Elmaleh. Without forgetting the Netflix series: Notre-Dame, the part of the fire !

First strongly recommend De Peretti’s film, finally visible in clear on television, in which the actor who won a Caesar for Roubaix, a lightis excellent.

Rebecca Zlotowski: “Roschdy Zem is not obsessed with being loved”

Investigation into a state scandal. This is a direct title, without mystery, which says everything about the film and yet hides the essential. Yes, this third feature film by Thierry de Peretti after the promising The Apaches (2013) and the mighty A violent life (2017), is a political espionage thriller with classic outlines with its share of shady characters, journalists galvanized by the issues, complex intrigues which, through an intertwining of ramifications, lead straight to the top of the state. All labeled ” Inspired by a True Story “.

The scenario is inspired, in fact, by an investigative book co-written by Hubert Avoine, a more or less repentant ex-narcotics infiltrator (played here by Roschdy Zem) and Emmanuel Fansten (Pio Marmaï), journalist at Release. They were the ones who followed and made public the so-called affair “François Thierry”, named after this former anti-drug boss accused of knowingly organizing vast drug trafficking under the guise of dismantling networks. The man, renamed Jacques Billard for the purposes of the fiction, is played by Vincent Lindon (not very present but demented).

The case began on October 17, 2015 with the spectacular seizure of several tons of cannabis in the heart of Paris. It was in reality a smokescreen to show off and give a lie, while behind the scenes tens of tons of drugs were landing on our territory in full view of the dedicated authorities, without making any noise but with a lot of profit.

Truth disguised

This is where cinema, a formidable factory that also creates mirages and trompe l’oeil, comes into play and “outwits” the film. Since everything that is shown in this reconstituted reality is only appearance, it is therefore appropriate to question the objects and forms represented. The spectator’s gaze replaces that of the filmmaker and scrutinizes more than he observes. The truth – never naked, always disguised – almost never appears full frame like a nose in the middle of the face. Everything is constantly slipping away. Thierry de Peretti remains attached to these bodies whose physical impact they send back is constantly weakened by their own uncertainty. In an interview given to promote his film, the filmmaker explains: “ I like being thrown into a film and not immediately understanding everything that’s happening, I like the characters not to worry about me, to be independent of my view… »

Invisible Witness

This profession of faith was already at work in A violent lifesort ofFreed with Corsican sauce, constantly playing on permanent danger and the effect of surprise. The opening sequence of this Investigation into a state scandal is eloquent in this. We can see a man (Zem with a decidedly unfailing charisma), alone in a soulless house, by the sea. He paces around with enough hesitation to suggest tension. He will soon be an almost spectral figure in the middle of a ballet of cars and boats transporting goods without anyone paying attention to him. However, it is on this witness ” invisible “ what will this whole story be about. His words, his gestures, his actions will guide a narrative that is inherently fragile, where the words given are only intermittently embodied.

Faced with him, journalists are guards who are obliged to let themselves be carried by this alternating current of devastating energy. More than on actions, Thierry de Peretti’s film is therefore based on intuitions. The filmmaker does not seek to decide, even less to judge anyone. Helped by his cinematographer, Claire Mathon, logically rewarded for her work at the San Sebastian Festival, he presents us with a masked, jarring world, whose anguished emergence of recognition signals ends up overwhelming us. Everything here is like hypnosis. A great film about frustration.

Alice Isaaz and Roschy Zem, great reporters in Alive (trailer)