The Crimson Rivers (2000)
Coming Out at 27 September 2000 in theaters.
“Les rivières pourpres”
Crime, Horror, Mystery
The Crimson Rivers is psychological thriller film starring Jean Reno and Vincent Cassel. The film, which was directed by Mathieu Kassovitz, is based on the best-selling novel Red Blood Rivers. Its screenplay was co-written by the book’s author, Jean-Christophe Grangé.
The film is about two detectives who investigate a series of grisly murders in and around an isolated university campus in the French Alps. With a $14 million budget, the movie went on to gross $60 million from a worldwide theatrical release. Despite its box office success, one of its stars, Vincent Cassel admitted, “I can’t help explain the film because I didn’t understand it! We cut out everything in the film that was explanatory, therefore ‘boring’. You end up with a film that’s not boring but you don’t understand it all.”
Detective Superintendent (Commissaire Principal) Pierre Niemans (Jean Reno), a well known Parisian police investigator, is sent to the small rural university town of Guernon in the French Alps to investigate a brutal murder. The victim’s body was found bound in a fetal position and suspended high on a cliff face, his eyes removed and his hands cut off. Niemans learns that the victim was a professor and the University’s librarian, Remy Callois, and he seeks out a local ophthalmologist for an explanation to the removal of the eyes. Dr. Cherneze, once on the University staff, explains that the school’s isolation led to in-breeding amongst the professors, with increasingly serious genetic disorders.
Director: Mathieu Kassovitz
Writers: Jean-Christophe Grangé (novel), Jean-Christophe Grangé, Mathieu Kassovitz
Stars: Jean Reno, Vincent Cassel, Nadia Fares, Dominique Sanda, Karim Belkhadra, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Didier Flamand
Cast:
| Jean Reno | … | Pierre Niemans |
| Vincent Cassel | … | Max Kerkerian |
| Nadia Farès | … | Fanny Ferreira / Judith Herault |
| Dominique Sanda | … | Sister Andrée |
| Karim Belkhadra | … | Captain Dahmane |
| Jean-Pierre Cassel | … | Dr. Bernard Chernezé |
| Didier Flamand | … | The Dean |
| François Levantal | … | Pathologist |
| Francine Bergé | … | Headmistress |
| Philippe Nahon | … | Man at Petrol Station |
| Laurent Lafitte | … | Hubert, the Dean’s Son |
| Robert Gendreu | … | Cemetery Warden |
| Christophe Bernard | … | Skinhead #1 |
| Nicky Naudé | … | Skinhead #2 |
| Tonio Descanvelle | … | Sarzac Policeman #1 |
| Olivier Rousset | … | Sarzac Policeman #2 |
| Françoise Loreau | … | Nun in Convent |
| Vincent Tulli | … | Computer Technician |
| Nicolas Koretzky | … | Computer Cop |
| Sami Zitouni | … | Youth #1 on Sarzac Estate |
| Slim Zitouni | … | Youth #2 on Sarzac Estate |
| Christophe Rossignon | … | Policeman in Station Wagon on Bridge |
| Dominique Bettenfeld | … | Policeman with Theory |
| Alexis Robin | … | Blind Child with Dog |
| Alain Guerillot | … | Skinhead Cafe Owner |
| Laurent Avare | … | Rémy Caillois |
| Olivier Morel | … | Philippe Sertys |
| Vincent Skimenti | … | Policeman |
Sources: imdb & wikipedia