kelvin@ut-sally.UUCP (Kelvin Thompson) (06/21/85)
_My_New_Partner_
by Kelvin Thompson
_My_New_Partner_ is a bad movie, although it is really inappropriate to
call it a movie at all. Rather, it is a carefully-contrived piece of
propoganda designed to undermine the confidence of the West in its
economies and governments.
On its surface, the "movie" concerns the uncomfortable relationship
between two Parisian street cops, one a veteran and one a rookie. The
veteran, Phillipe Noiret (_Dear_Inspector_) has been on the take for
years. He regularly accepts free meals from restaraunts, free clothes
from tailors, free tumbles from prostitutes, and bribes from just about
everybody. In the opening scenes Noiret's longtime partner is caught
performing similar unsavory deeds and put behind bars. Noiret is then
partnered with a rookie, Thierry Lhermitte (_Until_September_), who
believes in playing strictly by the book.
Given this outline, the movie has the potential to be a powerful drama
about the terrible waste -- in both economic and human terms -- caused by
greed and corruption. The movie might have been something to stand beside
Lumet's _Prince_of_the_City_, but instead the French Government has
turned _Partner_ into a *comedy.* As ridiculous as it may seem, the
filmmakers attempt to make Noiret's arbitrary enforcement of the law
*humorous,* and they try to portray Lhermitte's character as a naive,
irritating prude.
When Noiret ignores a pickpocket, frees a pusher for a bribe, or gets his
Chief hooked on coke, the viewer is supposed to smile at his
street-wisdom. As he gradually corrupts his partner -- first by
implicating the rookie in a prisoner-beating, then by stealing all his
money so he is forced to accept graft -- the audience is supposed to
laugh at his cleverness. When Lhermitte, fully corrupted, proposes a
daring (and illegal) scam, the audience is supposed to cheer at his
conversion.
This type of manipulation may wash with the French, but other audiences
will recognize the insidious messages planted by _Partner_ as part of a
larger trend, a trend which corresponds roughly with the ascension to
power of Mitterand's "Socialist" government in France. Certainly American
audiences will realize that all of the recent films coming out of France
-- from _Jupiter's_Thigh_ to _Coup_de_Torchon_ to _Diva_ -- portray the
police as ineffectual boobies and trivialize their position in society.
_Partner_ is surely the peak (so far) of this trend. The police are less
responsible in their conduct, less effective in their crime-fighting, and
more easily overcome than ever. In _Partner_ the overall message comes
through all too clearly: the police can no longer function, they are
little better than the criminals they claim to fight, the time for
revoultion is now, overthrow the corrupt, bloodsucking order for a better
one.
Fortunately, Mitterand and his cronies have forgotten one thing while
churning out their subliminal broadcast -- that the people of France and
Europe love their liberty, and will die to keep it. Paris, or even
France, may fall for a time, but freedom lovers the world over will gladly
take up arms to see that it is once again restored to its previous glory.
Liberty *will* live again.
With luck, however, careful viewers of movies like _Partner_ may come to
fully appreciate the foul fruit that is ripening in the heart of Europe
and avert the explosion peacefully, before a drop of blood need be shed.
elf@utcsri.UUCP (Eugene Fiume) (06/23/85)
> > _My_New_Partner_ > > by Kelvin Thompson > > _My_New_Partner_ is a bad movie, although it is really inappropriate to > call it a movie at all. Rather, it is a carefully-contrived piece of > propoganda designed to undermine the confidence of the West in its > economies and governments. and so on Look, this is two movie reviews now (the other being on _1984_) that I can only take to be big jokes. If Mr. Thompson is actually serious about these reviews, then I think they should be prefaced by the appropriate symbol, say for example, (:-(. Otherwise I'd waste my time arguing about what unadulterated bovine excrement these reviews contain. Eugene Fiume {decvax|allegra}!utcsri!elf
reiher@ucla-cs.UUCP (06/24/85)
In article <2157@ut-sally.UUCP> kelvin@ut-sally.UUCP (Kelvin Thompson) writes: > The movie might have been something to stand beside > Lumet's _Prince_of_the_City_, but instead the French Government has > turned _Partner_ into a *comedy.* > Mr. Thompson overstates the French government's participation in the filmmaking process. For a more informed view, read the articles Marcel Ophuls has published in "American Film" over the last few years. While the government may hold this attitude, the filmmakers undoubtedly chose this approach, it was not forced on them by the Ministry of Culture. The French sacred cow used to be the army, not the police, and even that has been somewhat undermined. > This type of manipulation may wash with the French, but other audiences > will recognize the insidious messages planted by _Partner_ as part of a > larger trend, a trend which corresponds roughly with the ascension to > power of Mitterand's "Socialist" government in France. Certainly American > audiences will realize that all of the recent films coming out of France > -- from _Jupiter's_Thigh_ to _Coup_de_Torchon_ to _Diva_ -- portray the > police as ineffectual boobies and trivialize their position in society. > Perhaps Mr. Thompson isn't familiar with earlier French cinema, but the French have never cared for police as heros. They rarely play this role, and cyniscism about the police is widespread in French popular art, and has been for a very long time. Mr. Thompson is apparently unaware that this type of protrayal of the police is also popular in the US, though not to the same degree. Rarely are modern American film police heros by-the-book types. Almost to a man, they break the rules with little regard for law, and frequently the belief that they are the arbiters of justice (Eastwood's Dirty Harry movies, "The French Connection", Chuck Norris' very popular films, and others too numerous to mention). The other popular American archetype for the police is that they are of little help in situations of real importance (almost any Hitchcock film, "The Maltese Falcon", and most other detective movies). > Fortunately, Mitterand and his cronies have forgotten one thing while > churning out their subliminal broadcast -- that the people of France and > Europe love their liberty, and will die to keep it. Paris, or even > France, may fall for a time, but freedom lovers the world over will gladly > take up arms to see that it is once again restored to its previous glory. > Liberty *will* live again. The French have, historically, had left-wing revolutions, not right-wing ones. Neither is very likely, but I'd be more inclined to believe in a Communist revolution in France than a conservative one. I don't suppose you're really suggesting that Ronnie deflect attention from Lebanon by invading France to overthrow its democratically elected government, but it does sound like you wouldn't much mind it. > With luck, however, careful viewers of movies like _Partner_ may come to > fully appreciate the foul fruit that is ripening in the heart of Europe > and avert the explosion peacefully, before a drop of blood need be shed. A reasonable discussion of the morality and truth of police corruption and its portrayal in films would be interesting, but this article is not much of a contribution to such discussion. -- Peter Reiher reiher@ucla-cs.arpa soon to be reiher@LOCUS.UCLA.EDU {...ihnp4,ucbvax,sdcrdcf}!ucla-cs!reiher
cramer@kontron.UUCP (Clayton Cramer) (06/29/85)
> > _My_New_Partner_ > > by Kelvin Thompson > > This type of manipulation may wash with the French, but other audiences > will recognize the insidious messages planted by _Partner_ as part of a > larger trend, a trend which corresponds roughly with the ascension to > power of Mitterand's "Socialist" government in France. Certainly American > audiences will realize that all of the recent films coming out of France > -- from _Jupiter's_Thigh_ to _Coup_de_Torchon_ to _Diva_ -- portray the > police as ineffectual boobies and trivialize their position in society. > For the life of me, I can't see why a Socialist government would want to portray police as ineffectual or trivialize their position --- socialism can't operate without a lot of coercion, and that's what police are for.