Rather than addressing the 2015 attacks head-on, November (broadcast this Sunday, November 3, 2024 at 9:10 p.m. on France 2) focuses on the titanic work of the police. A successful film around the urgency of this unprecedented investigation.
How to film the unfilmable? By not showing it directly, perhaps. When Cédric Jimenez (BAC North) found himself in possession of a scenario around the 2015 attacks in Paris and its outskirts, he expressed well-justified reservations. Reading it made him change his mind. Because the intelligence of the script is precisely not to tell the hell of these attacks, and to focus on the five days which followed. In other words, the unprecedented investigation by the anti-terrorist sub-directorate (Sdat) to find the terrorists.
The appropriate bias of director Cédric Jimenez on November
On the night of November 13 to 14, Fred, the commissioner, announced the problem: “They are a little more than three hours ahead of us”. All of Sdat’s work therefore consists of making up for this delay. A suffocating and breathtaking race against time begins. By focusing on this very secret service, the feature film wisely chooses to tell how the national coordination of all public services, in particular “all the cops in France”prevented society from falling into chaos. Because the details of the investigation have logically never been revealed, the screenwriter and filmmaker of BAC North (2019) had to take liberties. Which does not prevent him from reproducing a meticulous manhunt with the dignity that the subject demands. The dynamic and controlled staging (the spinning scenes or the incredible final assault) makes Novemberbroadcast this Sunday, November 3, 2024 at 9:10 p.m. on France 2, a terribly effective film. But never sensationalist.
Jean Dujardin, Anaïs Demoustier, Sandrine Kiberlain, Lyna Khoudri…: a cast in unison
The main terrorists behind the attacks are only seen through CCTV footage. The victims are only shown with modesty, during a scene in the hospital. The Sdat police officers, the only characters in the film with the capital witness (played by Lyna Khoudri), only exist through the investigation. They (almost) don’t sleep. They don’t see their family. Accumulated fatigue and the urgency of the situation sometimes lead to haste and errors. Even if Jean Dujardin – solid commissioner – and Anaïs Demoustier – stubborn captain – lead this choral film (Sandrine Kiberlain, Jérémie Renier, Sami Outalbali, Cédric Kahn, Raphaël Quenard…), the distribution, as brilliant as it is, works in the service of film without anyone pulling the blanket over you. Despite the false leads, the protagonists manage to get out of this situation together. “unimaginable storm”. A glimmer of humanity, after a stifling 1h47.
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