INSIDE THE CELL

NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

Sam is a journalist who takes advantage of his Muslim background to infiltrate fundamentalist circles on the outskirts of Paris. He earns the trust of a group of young people who have been instructed to create a cell for an action in Paris. They are waiting for their leader’s return, and he soon appears, fresh from a stint in a training camp in Pakistan. Criminal planning begins, but only the leader seems to know the ultimate goal.

It is hard to imagine a more topical film coming out of France today; in fact, Inside the Cell has paid a price for its relevance. It was finished and eagerly awaited by many well-informed people when the Charlie Hebdo attack of January 7, 2015 took place, and everything changed. No one, especially not the film’s distributor, wanted to touch the film, which was deemed too polemical and volatile. Only recently was a French release date, November 4, announced. A good thing, because beyond the controversy it is an effective, socially relevant, unsensational thriller, reminiscent of the films of Jean-Pierre Melville. A sharp, suspenseful film that plays with voyeurism and confirms that Nicolas Boukhrief (Le convoyeur, Cortex, Gardiens de l’ordre) is truly a modern master of the French thriller. ? Julien Fonfrède