This French detective film, inspired by a true story, sparked controversy when it was released in theaters in 2021, despite great success at the box office. It is now available on Netflix.
Even box office successes can spark controversy. The proof with this detective film released in 2021 which had achieved more than 2.2 million admissions in France over 18 weeks of operation. Presented at Cannes, this feature film inspired by a true story, however, suffered several controversies. This film is released this week on Netflix.
If North Bac was praised by critics for its staging and the performances of its actors, this feature film which follows an anti-crime brigade of Marseille, accused of corruption, was criticized by certain press titles on the way in which the inhabitants of the Phocaean city were depicted, and, more broadly, the way in which the suburbs are represented.
The newspaper The crosswho nevertheless found qualities in the film, for example deplored that this thriller “only shows the cities as lawless zones, places of all dangers”: “It is a great shame that his film so cruelly lacks empathy for its inhabitants, the first victims of the violence committed there.”
Even before the release of North Bac on the screens, the film made waves. While the feature film was presented at the Cannes Film Festival, a journalist sparked laughter from the team in the middle of a press conference when he indicated that, in his opinion, the film encouraged people to vote for the far right. The reason ? North Bac gives an empathetic view of the police officers involved and presents the residents of the cities as “beasts”.
“I don’t think the film is there to denounce areas of lawlessness and to stir up anger,” replied director Cédric Jimenez. “On the contrary. I tell the story of anger because I chose the point of view of the police.” However, North Bac was politically appropriated by the far right upon its release a few weeks later. Marine Le Pen and Eric Zemmour invited the public to see the film and did not fail to praise its content.
In response, the director then denounced a “pure political recovery” while recalling that the film relates “a police case” and not life in the cities. Cédric Jimenez also said he was “embarrassed” when the film was screened by the Alliance police union before a meeting with candidates for the 2022 presidential election : “It’s disturbing, it bothers me a lot, because a film remains a cinematographic work and it cannot become a political object”, reacted the director to France Inter. Netflix subscribers can form their own opinion from the 7th may.
