Review of Scènes de crimes

In contrast to the other reviews I found "Scènes de crimes" neither to be a French Silence of the Lambs (not pretentious enough, which can't be said of "Les rivières pourpres"), nor does it portray the policiers as fools or less sophisticated. Instead, it showed a far more realistic depiction of police work and the police officers: most threads eventually lead to a cul-de-sac, and the cops are mere mortals. They're not driven by an existentialist need to fight evil etc. to define themselves. They are simply doing their job as good as they can. As to the ending: part of me thinks it's a cop-out, too. But on the other hand, maybe the finale simply tried to state that despite the depravity and indifference around us sometimes fate gives us a second chance. Even though it was only a short scene, the angry priest at the funeral stuck out. His sermon/rant about charity and respect strongly contrasted with the pervading moral numbness and sense of isolation. All in all a subtle, yet troubling thriller; and far better than "Les rivières pourpres" exactly because it DIDN'T try to be something it wasn't.