While we are on the subject of movies based on true events, I must mention The Assault AKA L’assaut, an undiscovered French gem from 2010. Although the production values are not blockbuster-like, as you would expect them in a movie of this caliber, the usual French color manipulation and slight blur applied in post-processing made the whole thing look much better with an almost noir vibe. I had some doubts about this movie, thinking that it will be some Taxi-like action, but I assure you that this is a serious movie.
The only flaw that I could think of is that they didn’t manage to fully develop the characters, but then again that wasn’t the point. The point was the assault, and that part was done perfectly. In the past decade, we have seen a number of movies portraying special forces of different countries (S.W.A.T., BOPE…) and now we finally get the chance to see the Frenchies in action, and out of all them, they were most successful (at least in real life).
The Assault is a movie about the hijacking of Air France Flight 8969, which was taken by the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) in December of 1994, and the attempts of the French government to peacefully resolve this situation. Although this happened in 1994, after the September 11 attacks and a number of failed attempts to hijack other planes this is still a very interesting subject, especially now with the rise of the Islamic extremists.
Speaking of them, we have a rare chance to look inside the mind of your average terrorist, and we have to thank the actors for that. Along with the actual raid, that part of the movie was just so fascinating to me. Maybe because of the outcome of this hijacking, they didn’t hold back with the story and we can actually see what is going on behind closed doors. Bribes, pleads, blackmail, and only as a final solution an assault…
With a very talented director and a great cast, this movie will keep you on the edge of your seat with its realistic action and suspenseful atmosphere. The special bonus is that it’s all true, and this just adds more tension to an already intense movie. I will not reveal to you what happens in the end, but if you want you can check out the links below for more information, enjoy…
As a final note, I must implore you that as with any other movie that isn’t made in the USA or England, please DO NOT watch the dubbed version, it will ruin the vibe…
Director: Julien Leclercq
Cast: Vincent Elbaz, Grégori Derangère, Mélanie Bernier, Aymen Saïdi, Chems Dahmani
Fun Facts: Bernard Dellemme (pilot) returned to flying and worked for Air France for nine years before retiring.
Rating:
Link to the incident on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_France_Flight_8969
IMDb Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1793239/
