Following his break-out in The Artist, Jean Dujardin has taken part in his fair share of Hollywood efforts with The Monuments Men and The Wolf of Wall Street, but that actor is far from jumping headfirst into that arena. His latest French feature, The Connection, finds him leading a crime drama as we follow his six-year battle to bring down a narcotics ring in what’s said to be a twist on The French Connection.
Ahead of a Toronto International Film Festival debut, the first trailer has now dropped, which is currently without subtitles, but has intense-looking potential. Check it out below, along with an extended synopsis and poster, for the Cédric Jimenez-directed project also starring Gilles Lellouche, Céline Sallette, and Benoît Magimel.
Update: Check it out with subtitles below.
Academy Award-winning actor Jean Dujardin (The Artist, The Wolf of Wall Street) stars in this high-octane crime epic chronicling a violent six-year campaign to bring down the kingpin of a major narcotics ring. Director Cédric Jimenez hurls us back to the 1970s for a bold European twist on William Friedkin’s action classic The French Connection.
Newly transferred to the bustling port city of Marseille to assist with a crackdown on organized crime, energetic young magistrate Pierre Michel (Dujardin) is given a rapid-fire tutorial on the ins and outs of an out-of-control drug trade. Pierre’s wildly ambitious mission is to take on the French Connection, a highly organized operation that controls the city’s underground heroin economy and is overseen by the notorious — and reputedly untouchable — Gaetan Zampa (Gilles Lellouche of Mesrine: Killer Instinct). Fearless, determined and willing to go the distance, Pierre plunges into an underworld world of insane danger and ruthless criminals.
With his wildly frenetic montages, kinetic camerawork, and keen ear for perfect musical juxtapositions, Jimenez invokes the best of Scorsese while bringing a slick sense of style to his sophomore feature — which was shot on glorious 35mm. Based on a true story, The Connection is a restlessly inventive, immaculately crafted big-screen entertainment, and one hell of a ride.
The Connection will hit theaters in France on December 3rd and is looking for U.S. distribution.