- Release year: 1976
- Director: Alain Corneau.
- Producer: Albina du Boisrouvray.
- Screenplay by: Daniel Boulanger.
- Cinematography by: Étienne Becker.
- Music by: Georges Delerue.
Synopsis: two men, a police commissioner and a detective, date the same woman. When she is murdered, their secret connections to her put them in a dangerous spot.
Shotgun Commentary: surreal, annoying, and barely thrilling.
Review
Police Python 357 is a French crime movie that brags about being a psychological thriller when in reality it is barely a mystery. The story itself is quite decent, and the stress that you are supposed to feel during a thriller is definitely present. Sadly, the character creation and development is so offensively bad, that the end result is less of a thriller and more of a waste of time.
The good, and the very bad
Let’s get one thing straight: the idea is good. Having two policemen date the same woman and then trying to cover up their tracks while also investigating the murder is a great idea. Regrettably, that’s where the genius ends. It isn’t hard to imagine the 70s male audience loving this film. After all, the crime genre and feminism are almost like water and oil. Still, it is hard to imagine the feature sat well with female audiences, even then, or at least this critic would like to think so.
To say that Police Python 357 hasn’t aged well would be to put way too mildly. The closer you look at the script, the less sense it makes. Not to mention that the characters seem to have been written by an alien who’s only reference is that one five-hour trip he took to Earth six years ago. Any resemblance to human behaviour is completely accidental.
Logic is not in the room with us
If you are dating someone, and you find them dead when you go visit them, would you call the police? Furthermore, being a policeman yourself, don’t you know what the best course of action is? How can a person become a detective if the sight of a corpse rattles them so much that they begin to act completely erratically?
The core of the story, which is the lead detective of the case trying to avoid any ties with the victim, makes no sense from the very beginning. Granted, this doesn’t make his ridiculous attempts at concealing himself any less amusing, but still, maybe a couple of rewrites could’ve saved a few people from the embarrassment of presenting this.
Of course, there is also the old couple, formed by the commissioner and his rich wife. In order to stay out of trouble, they have to do absolutely nothing. That’s it, and they both know this. Do they do nothing? You probably know the answer to that.
The unforgivable
Nevertheless, if you thought this was the worst of it, settle in, the worst is about to come: Sylvia Leopardi (Stefania Sandrelli), the victim herself… In more ways than one. Sylvia is a young woman that apparently has been so affected by being an orphan that she has no choice but behave like a four-year-old brat who’s never heard the word no in her whole life. A four-year-old that, naturally, only dates men over sixty. You know, like women like to do…
How was Sandrelli capable of such performance without dying from cringe is beyond any possible comprehension. Her delivery is flawless, capably exhibiting the revolting sexism of the writers for all the audience to see. It is films like this that set the precedent for the worst of society to still exist. Ever wonder where pitiful men get the nerve to comment on sixteen-years-old Instagram posts about their body from? Media like this, works that encourage people to think that it is perfectly acceptable for old men to thirst and prey on young girls.
Final grievances
In light of this, commenting on how ridiculous the final “action” scene is seems quite irrelevant. But let’s do that, just for the hell of it. Ever tried to write a story and discovered that you didn’t know how to end it? Well, this film’s writers will tell you to slap an action scene out of nowhere that tips the moral scale of the protagonist towards good so you can justify the fact that absolutely nothing happens in the end. Make a few cars explode and fade to black, kinda like smoke-bombing out an event. Sad and lazy? Yes. Effective? Sadly, also yes.
All in all, Police Python 357 should be shown in all scriptwriting seminars as the perfect example of what NOT to do. It is hard to show this level of mediocrity when the premise is so good, but here we are. Still, it is quite good if you are looking for a hate-watch movie night, so there’s that…
Radiance’s box set “Hardboiled: Three Pulp Thrillers by Alain Corneau”, featuring Police Python 357, Série noire, and Choice of Arms, is now available. Link below!
LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES
- High-Definition digital transfers, presented on three discs
- Uncompressed mono PCM audio for each film
- Audio commentary by Mike White on Police Python 357 (2024)
- Maxim Jakubowski on Police Python 357’s source novel and adaptation (2024)
- Archival interview with Alain Corneau and François Périer about Police Python 357 from Belgian Television (1976)
- Série noire set interviews with Alain Corneau, Patrick Dewaere and Miriam Boyer from Belgian Television (1981)
- Série noire: The Darkness of the Soul – An archival documentary featuring cast and crew on the making of the film (2013, 53 mins)
- Archival interview with Alain Corneau and Marie Trintignant about Série noire (2002, 30 mins)
- A visual essay about Jim Thompson adaptations for the screen by Paul Martinovic (2024)
- Introduction by documentary filmmaker Jérôme Wybon (2024)
- Shooting Choice of Arms – interviews with the cast and crew including behind-the-scenes footage (1981)
- Interviews with Deneuve, Montand and Depardieu from the set (1981)
- Interview with Manuela Lazic on Yves Montand in the 1970s (2024)
- Trailers
- Optional English subtitles for each film
- Reversible sleeve featuring designs based on original posters
- Limited edition 80-page booklet featuring new writing by Andrew Male, Nick Pinkerton, Charlie Brigden, and newly translated archival writing
- Limited edition of 2500 copies, presented in a rigid box with full-height Scanavo cases and removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and marking
Find the Radiance release right here!
Advice to take from this movie:
- If you find a corpse, CALL THE POLICE. If you are the police, call your partners!
- If you feel the need to ogle girls that could be your granddaughters, it might not be too late for therapy. Online stalking is not the answer.
- If you ever find yourself wanting to flush jewellery down the toilet for whatever reason, count to ten and think about the possibility of a pawnshop?
What’s your take? Have you watched Police Python 357? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀
Honestly, I don’t know why this reviewer is making a fuss about feminism here, because for me “feminist” films tend to be narcissistic and nihilistic, and tend to be eye-rolling affairs. If you liked the Kevin Costner film No Way Out, you will probably appreciate this film as well. By the way, another film by that title starring Sidney Poitier is pretty decent as well, with Poitier’s black doctor up against Richard Widmark’s racist thug.
This reply suggests really scarce knowledge on “feminist” films. The nihilistic films you are referring to merely reflect reality and the dire circumstances women have to put up with on a daily basis, as well as offer an outlet through which women can feel seen and understood in their struggle. However, that is not necessarily what feminist films are, movies like Miss Congeniality or Cutthroat Island could not be further from what you described, yet they do portray characters women actually relate to and not just decorations men can drool over. That is a feminist film, a feature that actually bothers to portray women fairly and accurately.
Still, the fact that you described a reasoned criticism about why sexualising women with the attitude of children is not something enjoyable for women to watch as “making a fuss” kinda lets me know explaining any of this is a loosing battle. But alas, one must try.