User Reviews

"38 témoins" aka "38 witnesses" is an adaptation from David Decoin's 2009 Novel entitles "Est-ce ainsi que les femmes meurent" (Do women die like this?). The Novel as the film was inspired by a true crime story that occurred in 1964 in Queens New York where a local woman was stabbed, sexually assaulted and murdered in public as her neighbors ignored her cries for help.

The film from director Lucas Belvaux focuses on one couple played by Ivan Attal (Pierre Morvand)and Sophie Quinton as his wife Louise who is coming back from a trip in China and understands that a young woman was murdered in the street she lives in. At the time of the crime her husband Pierre was working late and so wasn't home when the crime occurred…so he says… But the police and a journalist (the beautiful Nicole Garcia) are investigating. One of the witnesses is having a different version than the 37 others. One of the witnesses can't look anymore into his wife's eyes. One of the witnesses has caught a terrible disease: Guilt. A disease for which the only cure is confession; a confession so hard to do it can only be delivered in a sleep, during a dream or a nightmare. And this witness is Pierre (Ivan Attal).

What if you were confronted to an event that would spoil the Tranquility of your Life, the Routine of it? What if this event would command you to do something that' you've never done before? What if doing nothing is indeed doing something, turning into a placid monster? After confronting this moment of disgusting Truth about yourself, you may survive the confrontation, but the loss of Love might be the price to pay. You'll witness the Love fading in the eyes of your wife, of your kids of your friends but also in your own eyes…

Superbly filmed and through a well-crafted narration "38 witnesses" emerges as a powerful movie about the darkest hour of our Soul. The movie works as a step by step psychological confrontation between the worst of you that can rise from cowardice, apathy and the search for redemption that follows. The price to pay is proportionate to the damage you've provoke. Be ready to empty your Life from the only thing you cannot live without: Love.

I think the story itself is very interesting and keeps people busy in these times but how this movie highlights the theme is a pity.

• The acting is not so well, at some points it looks like a cheap (American style) soap series with the same 'soapy' camera shots and thin conversations. It gets worse as the movie progresses and the director is trying to get emotions in the viewer but that didn't work that well. Some dialogs are just not natural in the emotional state the people intend to be. The part on the beach with the man (lead actor) reading the newspaper article of the journalist is really lightly and the movie itself feels like a rattled off story.

• There's not much wrong with the lighting and cinematic quality. There are some very pretty harbor/boat/city shots in the movie, especially in the beginning but later in the movie some (repeated) shots start to irritate and the director uses the same silence/hard-noisy sound trick too much. The camera angles were pretty standard in dialogs. The movie is more photographic than cinematic.

• If the story is not so strong and the acting is not so well, the soundtrack can save the 'general atmosphere' of the movie. Unfortunately, that part also failed because of the very simple and obvious guitar tunes.

• A story like this should hit the 'emotional snare' but I think the the director failed to attract the audience in his emotional story.

There are much better (French) movies available so my advice is to skip this one.

I read the other comments for this film. I respect this point of view, but don't share it. That doesn't mean I am right and they are wrong.

I consider this film as a brilliant, unusual, daring and powerful drama. One more masterpiece directed by Lucas Belvaux, who already gave us RAPT, in 2009, starring the same Yvan Attal at his peak. His best.

The story of a murder committed at night, in a neighbourhood where every one heard or saw the killing BUT without calling the police. Because of their fear, their cowardice. Only one among them, one week later, dares admitting to his wife that he actually heard a long cry in the night. A cry of agony. He goes to the police and tells the truth. But afterwards, a journalist gets the information and each one of the 38 witnesses of the crime is aware of the courageous man's - Attal - behavior which points out their own cowardice...

A tense, poignant gripping downbeat film that I won't forget.

As the prosecutor states: a third of the population is on neuroleptics, another third are cowards. Selfishness, cowardness, guilt and shame are the fabric of this slow paced, Scandinavian style movie. It is a false thriller. The true murderer is the social breakdown.

It reminded me of "12 angry men" with a twist. 38 zombies would be more appropriate. With beautiful images of Le Havre port where, in a sequence, loaders and machines dance a threatening ballet. A disheartening but relevant subject movies are not supposed to cover.

Yvan Attal looks stubbornly stoned face which is the only proper attitude. He seems to know exactly his fate. The cast plays well, anger, guilt or shame, which is not an easy task.