L'ennemi public n°1 (2008)

Director:

Jean-François Richet

Writers:

Abdel Raouf Dafri (scenario)
Abdel Raouf Dafri (adaptation) ...
(more)

Release Date:

19 November 2008 (Belgium)

Genre:

Action | Biography | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

The story of notorious French gangster Jacques Mesrine. The follow-up film to "Public Enemy No. 1."

Plot Keywords:

Mesrine | France | Gangster | 1970s | Bank Robbery

Awards:

6 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Vincent Cassel	...	Jacques Mesrine
Ludivine Sagnier	...	Sylvie Jeanjacquot
Mathieu Amalric	...	François Besse
Gérard Lanvin	...	Charly Bauer
Samuel Le Bihan	...	Michel Ardouin
Olivier Gourmet	...	Le commissaire Broussard
Michel Duchaussoy	...	Le père de Jacques Mesrine
Myriam Boyer	...	La mère de Jacques Mesrine
Anne Consigny	...	L'avocate de Jacques Mesrine
Georges Wilson	...	Henri Lelièvre
Alain Fromager	...	Jacques Dallier - journaliste pour Minute
Alain Doutey	...	Le président du tribunal à Compiègne
Laure Marsac	...	La journaliste interview
Arsène Mosca	...	Jojo - un policier
Christophe Vandevelde	...	Inspecteur Gégé
Luc Thuillier	...	Le commissaire OCRB / Lucien Aimé-Blanc
Pascal Elso	...	Le commissaire SRPJ
Serge Biavan	...	L'inspecteur SRPJ
Isabelle Vitari	...	La caissière
Michaël Vander-Meiren	...	Le gendarme à Compiègne #1
David Seigneur	...	Le gendarme à Compiègne #2
Nicolas Abraham	...	Grangier
Joseph Malerba	...	Robert
Pascal Doucet-Bon	...	Journaliste Compiègne
Emmanuel Vieilly	...	L'inspecteur au cimetière
Pascal Liger	...	Le boxeur
Gérard Jarrier	...	Gardien de la paix
David Bursztein	...	Le tireur d'élite gradé
Helena Soubeyrand	...	La copine arrestation
Fabrice de la Villehervé	...	Le gardien-chef
Jean-Luc Muscat	...	Gardien prison de la Santé
Vincent Jouan	...	Gardien prison de la Santé
Eric Boucher	...	Gardien prison de la Santé
Bernard Rosselli	...	Gardien prison de la Santé
Philippe Le Dem	...	Gardien prison de la Santé
Erik Forcinal	...	Le gardien avocat
Fanny Sidney	...	Sabrina 16 ans
Alain Rimoux	...	L'avocat général
Olivier Pajot	...	Le président Assises Paris
Olivier Bartélémy	...	Le codétenu évasion (as Olivier Barthélémy)
Rachel Suissa	...	Princesse Annie
Clémence Thioly	...	Princesse Christiane
Xavier Letourneur	...	Le brigadier-chef Deauville (as Xavier Le Tourneur)
Yan Brian	...	Directeur casino Deauville
Hervé Laudière	...	Le fermier
Françoise Le Plénier	...	La fermière
Jérôme Boyer	...	Gendarme barrage police
Jean-Pierre Dantan	...	Gendarme barrage police
Clément Sasseville	...	Vendeur journaux Londres
Martial Courcier	...	Complice enlèvement
Frédéric Constant	...	Le fils du milliardaire
Nicolas Woirion	...	Le policier BMW rançon
Bernard Constant	...	Le vendeur BMW
Erica Rivolier	...	La femme de Charlie
Benoît Marchand	...	Inspecteur Farrugia
Albert Goldberg	...	Chauffeur SAVIEM
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Caroline Mathieu	...	Vendeuse de chaussures (uncredited)
Alexandre Picot	...	Garde du corps (uncredited)
Olivier Schneider	...	Inspecteur (uncredited)

Directed by
Jean-François Richet

Writing credits
Abdel Raouf Dafri		(scenario)
Abdel Raouf Dafri		(adaptation and dialogue) and
Jean-François Richet		(adaptation and dialogue)

Produced by
Manon Baudoin	....	assistant producer
Jean Cottin	....	associate producer
Daniel Delume	....	executive producer
Thomas Langmann	....	producer
Emmanuel Montamat	....	associate producer
Maxime Rémillard	....	producer
André Rouleau	....	producer

Original Music by
Marco Beltrami
Marcus Trumpp

Cinematography by
Robert Gantz

Film Editing by
Bill Pankow
Hervé Schneid

Casting by
Antoinette Boulat

Art Direction by
Jean-Andre Carriere		(supervising art director)

Costume Design by
Virginie Montel

Makeup Department
Christophe Giraud	....	makeup artist
Sandrine Gonzales	....	makeup artist
Thi Thanh Tu Nguyen	....	key makeup artist
Alice Robert	....	makeup artist
Nathalie Trépanier	....	makeup artist
Dana Vargas	....	makeup/hair stylist

Production Management
Adrien Adriaco	....	assistant unit manager
Pierre-Olivier Daudens	....	assistant unit manager
Thibaud Garron	....	assistant unit manager
Olivier Gravenhorst	....	post-production supervisor
Frank Mettre	....	post-production supervisor
François Pulliat	....	unit manager
Danny Rossner	....	production manager
Laurent Sivot	....	production manager
Jerry Thevenet	....	production manager
Gregory Valmir	....	assistant unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Alexandre Bernard	....	second assistant director
Ludovic Bernard	....	first assistant director
Patrice Lefebvre	....	third assistant director
Sinan Saber	....	additional third assistant director

Art Department
Marianne Arsa	....	assistant art director
Christophe Ballu	....	constructor
Dominique Brunel	....	property master
Jean-René Coulon	....	property master
Tristan Girault	....	property master
Sévérine Guilbaud	....	assistant set decorator
Steve Louis	....	graphic designer: Canada
Lionel Pouchard	....	storyboard artist
Patricia Ruelle	....	assistant art director
Asuka Sugiyama	....	art department coordinator

Sound Department
Alexandre Andrillon	....	boom operator
Mélanie Blouin	....	foley editor
Pascal Chauvin	....	foley artist
Edouard d'Heucqueville	....	sound mix technician
Dominique Eyraud	....	boom operator
Julien Gigliotti	....	additional boom operator
Jonathan Goc	....	sound editor
Carl Goetgheluck	....	sound re-recording mixer
François Groult	....	sound re-recording mixer
Vincent Guillon	....	sound editor
Gérard Hardy	....	sound editor
Sébastien Jeannot	....	sound editor
Jean-Christophe Julé	....	foley recordist
Jean Minondo	....	sound mixer
Alexis Place	....	additional sound effects
Loïc Prian	....	sound editor
Franck Tassel	....	assistant foley artist
Alexandre Widmer	....	supervising sound effects editor

Special Effects by
Grégoire Delage	....	special effects technician
Georges Demétrau	....	special effects supervisor
Pascal Fauvelle	....	special effects technician
Max Garnier	....	special effects technician
François Philippi	....	special effects coordinator
Olivier Puechberty	....	matte painter
Charles-Axel Vollard	....	special effects technician

Visual Effects by
Anais Bertrand	....	visual effects coordinator
Alain Bignet	....	digital compositor
Jerome Billet	....	digital matte painter
Pierre Billet	....	systems administrator
Alain Carsoux	....	visual effects supervisor
Anthony Charbonnier	....	digital compositor
Jean-Nicolas Costa	....	digital compositor
Nicolas Daniel	....	data manager
Natalène Darfeuille	....	visual effects production assistant
Christophe Dehaene	....	digital compositor
Séverine De Wever	....	visual effects coordinator
Stephane Dittoo	....	visual effects supervisor
Ludivine Ducrocq	....	production administration
Chauvet Florian	....	visual effects coordinator
Monteil Fredrik	....	digital compositor
Vincent Frei	....	digital compositor
Pierre Gosset	....	senior compositor
David Gourmaud	....	visual effects editor
Aurélien Grand	....	retouch and restoration
Pacini Kevin	....	visual effects editor
Aurelie Lajoux	....	senior compositor
Guillaume Le Gouez	....	digital compositor
Yann Leroux	....	digital compositor
Elodie Ly Tri	....	retouch and restoration
Jean-Francois Michelas	....	digital compositor
Joel Pinto	....	digital compositor
Siddharthan Raman	....	roto/prep artist
Ghislain Rio	....	digital compositor
Jeremy Séguin	....	digital compositor

Stunts
Alexandre Cadieux	....	stunt double
Mike Chute	....	stunt coordinator
Jere Gillis	....	stunt double
Emmanuel Lanzi	....	stunt actor
Christophe Marsaud	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Jimmy Bourcier	....	additional second assistant camera
Gaspard Cresp	....	loader
Marie-sophie Daniel	....	second assistant camera
Grégoire de Calignon	....	second assistant camera
Emmanuel de Fleury	....	first assistant camera
Benoit Dentan	....	camera operator
David Foquin	....	second assistant camera
Olivier Fortin	....	first assistant camera
Gregory Fromentin	....	gaffer
Pierric Gantelmi d'Ille	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Arnaud Gervet	....	second assistant camera
Frédéric Hauss	....	camera loader
Christopher Kralik	....	best boy electric: Montreal
Nicolas Le Gal	....	additional assistant camera
Alexandre Léglise	....	assistant camera
Pierre Mazard	....	first assistant camera
Mikael Monod	....	gaffer
Sophie Moulin	....	additional grip
Benoît Pain	....	second assistant camera
Arthur Savonneau	....	video assistant
Romain Schwartz	....	additional assistant camera
John Trapman	....	aerial director of photography
Steven J. Winslow	....	aerial camera technician: wescam camera

Casting Department
Laurent Couraud	....	extras casting
Patrice Farner	....	extras casting
Kasia Krynska	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Mohamed Al Naimi	....	costume technician
Guy Cloutier	....	key costumer
Marie-Eve Côté	....	extras dresser
Alexia Crisp-Jones	....	wardrobe
Ariane Daurat	....	wardrobe assistant
Christine Gribbin	....	key dresser: extras
Olivia Lahougue	....	wardrobe supervisor
André Nicholas Malouf	....	costume technician: Montreal

Editorial Department
Anne-Sophie Bion	....	first assistant editor
Jimmy Christophe	....	color timer
Thibaut Damade	....	assistant editor
Claire Fieschi	....	first assistant editor
Reginald Gallienne	....	dailies color grader
Gilles Granier	....	dailies color grader
Svetlana Vaynblat	....	additional editor

Music Department
William Boston	....	orchestrator
Rossano Galante	....	orchestrator
Andrew Kinney	....	orchestrator
John Kurlander	....	music recording engineer
John Kurlander	....	scoring mixer
Jérôme Lateur	....	music supervisor
Dana Niu	....	composer: additional music
Brandon Roberts	....	orchestrator
Mehdi Sayah	....	assistant music supervisor
Jamie Steele	....	pro tools operator

Transportation Department
André Nicholas Malouf	....	driver

Other crew
Dominique Bandet	....	production secretary
Corinne Devaux	....	choreographer
Marc Faye	....	location scout
Thibaud Garron	....	location scout
Pierre Guevremont	....	production accountant
Hugo Jeuffrault	....	production assistant
André Nicholas Malouf	....	production assistant
Karen Mattingly	....	script supervisor
Gomes de Almeida Natasha	....	assistant script supervisor
Luc Poullain	....	helicopter pilot: camera
Delphine Prothais	....	production secretary
Isabelle Querrioux	....	script supervisor
Lisa-Nina Rives	....	assistant script supervisor
James Stickel	....	production assistant
Kevin Van Der Meiren	....	production lawyer

Production Companies

• La Petite Reine
• M6 Films (co-production)
• Remstar Productions (participation) (as Remstar)
• Canal+ (participation)
• TPS Star (participation)
• 120 Films (participation)
• Natixis Coficiné (support)
• Uni Etoile 4 (in association with)
• Uni Étoile 5 (in association with)
• Cinémage 2 (in association with)
• Banque Populaire Images 8 (in association with)
• Région Haute-Normandie (support)
• Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC) (in partnership with)
• Pathé

Distributors

• Senator Distribution (2009) (USA) (all media)
• Hexagon Pictures (2009) (Japan) (theatrical)
• A-Film Distribution (2009) (Belgium) (all media)
• A-Film Distribution (2009) (Luxembourg) (all media)
• A-Film Distribution (2009) (Netherlands) (all media)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2009) (Belgium) (DVD) (retail)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD) (retail)
• Audio Visual Enterprises (2008) (Greece) (all media)
• California Filmes (2009) (Brazil) (all media)
• Hollywood Classic Entertainment Slovakia (2009) (Slovakia) (all media)
• Hollywood Classic Entertainment (2009) (Czech Republic) (all media)
• Madman Entertainment (2009) (Australia) (all media)
• Monopole-Pathé (2008) (Switzerland) (all media)
• Movie Bank (2009) (Belgium) (DVD) (rental)
• Movie Bank (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD) (rental)
• Nordisk Film (2009) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Pathé (2008) (France) (all media)
• Remstar Distribution (2008) (Canada) (all media)
• Senator Film (2008) (Germany) (all media)
• Top Film (2008) (Russia) (all media)

Special Effects

• Duran Duboi

Other Companies

• Duran Duboi  digital intermediate

Also Known As:

Mesrine: Public Enemy No. 1 (UK) (USA)
Mesrine: Public Enemy Number One (UK) (alternative spelling) (USA) (alternative spelling)
Mesrine - L'ennemi public n° 1 (France) (poster title)
Mesrine: L'ennemi public n° 1 (France) (promotional title)
Mesrine: Part 2 - Public Enemy #1 (International: English title)
Mesrine: Part II - Public Enemy #1 (International: English title)
Public Enemy No. 1, Part 2 (International: English title)

Runtime:

133 min

Country:

France | Canada

Language:

English | French

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | France:U (with warning) | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Ireland:16 | UK:15 | Italy:VM14 | Japan:R15+ | Denmark:15 | Austria:16

Filming Locations:

Algeria

Company:

La Petite Reine

Trivia:

Clovis Cornillac was originally set for the role of Charly Bauer, ultimately held by Gérard Lanvin.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): In the scene where a freshly-escaped Mesrine and Besse get on the train, they are shouting at each other and at the passengers, and brandishing pistols, but the extras playing passengers just look bored rather than terrified.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Gangstars (2009) (TV)

"The Legend"/"Public Enemy No. 1": the self-destructive exploitation of the image

Part 2 is more episodic than Part 1, but it has several unifying elements: the relationships with a notable accomplice, the quiet, secretive, but equally bold Francois Besse (Matthieu Amalric); with his last and perhaps most romantic girlfriend, Sylvie Jeanjacquot (Ludivine Sagier); and, after a special "anti-Mesrine cell" has been created just to track him down, with the police manhunt that ends his life. Their code name for him is simply "le grand," the Big One. Above all the film now has an overriding focus on Mesrine's growing public identity, which he consciously shapes. This grows out of the energetic theatricality of Vincent Cassel's performance. There are various scenes of Mesrine "performing" in a police station (where Part Two begins); for journalists of high-circulation weeklies; in court; robbing banks; and for the world at large. If there was once a discernible difference between his public and private life, it has disappeared now that he's assumed arch-gangster status. Cassel literally takes on volume, having put on 45 pounds for this part of the role. His character is solid, confident, and aware of his public image at all times, and with his inflated self-importance, he redefines himself as some kind of savior of the common man from the tyranny of the banks and the bourgeoisie. Various more sophisticated thinkers try to explain to him that the banks aren't the problem, and that robbing them doesn't alter the system and perhaps reinforces its importance.

As Part 2 begins, the now notorious gangster has made his way back to France. Spectacularly, Mesrine and another accomplice escape by holding up a Compiègne courtroom where he's about to be put on trial, taking the judge hostage on the way out. This segment is told in flashback: the gangster is telling his story to the cops after getting caught. He is subsequently furious to learn that the dictator Pinochet has seized page one of the newspapers by being apprehended, and pushed him out. He immediately demands a typewriter and begins to write his first autobiography, L'Instinct de mort (Death Instinct) to gain more attention.

But we also see Mesrine concealing his now more prominent public identity by assuming a series of disguises. He dresses up as a doctor to visit his dying father in a hospital and say goodbye. ("Why are you here?" his dad asks. "Well," answers Jacky, "all the banks were closed. . .") He not only gives Paris Match an important interview, but (in a sequence of excessive violence) tracks down, tortures and murders right-wing journalist Jacques Dallier (Alain Fromager), who enraged Mesrine by having written a piece for the journal Minute calling him a "dishonorable crook" and claiming he has "betrayed" his associates. And we see Mesrine operating through the medium of his attorney (Anne Consigny, of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly and A Christmas Tale), who risks her career by helping him get pistols for yet another of his escapes--one that includes fording a river and passing a police roadblock in a farmer's Peugeot.

This time, he escapes with the reserved, suspicious François Besse (Matthieu Amalric), who, like him, has already escaped from prisons three times before and is treated as a celebrity by prison guards. Besse is a sharp contrast to the flamboyant Mesrine and thinks him foolish and mad, though like everyone else, he respects his courage and audacity. The two men rob the Deauville gambling casino's coffers, posing as inspectors to get in. But before that at Mesrine's instigation they pose as Paris cops checking on the local police headquarter's duty roster, to find out when the station is least well-manned. Besse is uneasy about such bold maneuvers, but even more, questions Mesrine's talking to 'Paris-Match' and claiming he's a revolutionary. But it's the late Seventies, the time of the Aldo Moro kidnapping in Rome.

After hearing about the Red Brigades and the Badder Meinhof, Mesrine tells Besse he wants to attack maximum security prisons, in the same way that he went back and attacked the Guantanamo-like Special Corrections Unit in Quebec. The film tells us the SCU's malpractices were ended as a result of Mesrine's exposure of them after his escape. Meanwhile, he persuades Besse to help him kidnap Henri Lelièvre (Georges Wilson), a millionaire Paris slumlord, for ransom, telling the slumlord he represents the PLO. This is another exploit that doesn't go as planned, but leads to a bold escape.

For a while Mesrine connects with Charles Bauer (Gérard Lanvin), an out-and-out radical, and it's with him that he traps and snuffs the right-wing journalist. Bauer in particular debunks Mesrine's claims of being a revolutionary.

The two-film diptych is bookended with the final police shootout in Paris traffic at the Place de Clignancourt that kills Mesrine with Sylvie Jeanjacquot and her little dog at his side, after he has used the slumlord's money to buy her a lot of diamond jewelry and himself a luxury model brown BMW. This is a convention of the genre--the bookending with a final showdown--but the way it's expanded in the finale of Part Two shows both films' fine sense of detail. Olivier Gourmet, among so many others, excels as Commissioner Broussard, head of the anti-Mesrine unit whose operatives are so terrified when the short, now overweight Mesrine walks by where they're hiding.

'L'ennemi public nº 1' had a November 19, 2008 theatrical release in France. It is part of the Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Lincoln Center, March 2009.