Razzia sur la Chnouf (1955)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 1955
	Director: Henri Decoin
	Actors: Jean Gabin (Le Pacha, Flic ou Voyou), Marcel Dalio, Lino Ventura (La Gifle)
	Country: F
	Genre: Polar
	Conditions of visioning: 14.12.2018, in-flight entertainment 8" screen
Synopsis: Henri (Gabin) is back to France after 10 years in the USA to organize the drug dealing trade for the boss Liski.
Review: While flying to France for the Christmas holidays, I had to watch at least one French film and I chose than one. I was mistaken by the title and thought I would be watching a comedy like Les Tontons Flingueurs or Les Barbouzes, while in fact it is a very serious movie about drug trafficking in France in the 50's. If you want, the equivalent of Blow with Johnny Depp but two decades earlier and in France! Just for that it deserves to be seen. It is very weird to see this black and white action in a typical French setting of Paris: Cafés, people eating all the time (did you ever notice how you recognize French or Asian movies with that in contrast to American movies in which eating is never a pleasure) and drinking strong liquors, ample frock coats (redingotes) like were trendy at the time for both men and women, known French actors and settings. But all the rules of the drug-dealers movie were already there, albeit on very small scales. The boss, importers, manufacturers, distributors and dealers circuit is described for various drugs that were starting to make their way in Paris at that time: cocaine, opium and marijuana. And armed bullies (one played by Lino Ventura) are here to make sure no one double-crosses the boss. There is even a romance between the busy Henri and an innocent waitress, shown in a quite open way I find for the 50's. The same goes for the depraved female character of Léa. So in the end it is a bit weird to watch but well done for the time, and extremely interesting.
Rating: 7 /10