L'Union sacrée
1989 Crime / Drama / Thriller
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Credits
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Summary
Simon Atlan, a Jewish anti-narcotics cop, is teamed up with Karim Hamida, secret agent
for an Arab government. Tensions between the two men run high as they investigate
an international drugs ring operating in state schools. They agree to bury their
differences when they learn that a diplomat Ali Radjani is behind a terrorist network
based in an Islamic Cultural Centre. Karim manages to infiltrate the centre by posing
as a fundamentalist, and is shocked by what he discovers. His cover blown, he narrowly
escapes death by Simon’s timely intervention. Radjani swears revenge and, a short
while later, Simon’s wife is killed in a terrorist attack. Simon will let nothing
prevent him from avenging the death of his wife. Karim’s orders are to stop him
at any cost…
Review
Richard Berry joins forces with Patrick Bruel in this pacy action thriller from Alexandre
Arcady. It’s a pairing that works surprisingly well, Berry’s darker, more restrained
approach making an effective contrast with Bruel’s more dynamic, expressive style of acting.
Like many of Arcady’s thrillers, it is somewhat marred by an excess of violence, dire
sentimentality and some criminal misuse of slow-motion photography. However, the
film’s main plot, about fundamentalist terrorism, is relevant and handled surprisingly
well, if one overlooks the botched ending. The action scenes are also generally
well choreographed, although the director’s infantile bloodthirstiness is to be regretted.
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