Don’t miss this stylish crime thriller set in the 1970s, starring Academy Award winner Jean Dujardin. Playing back-to-back with its companion film, the 1971 classic THE FRENCH CONNECTION, on selected dates!
“Surely one of the summer’s most entertaining concoctions. Consider it a refreshing trois couleurs popsicle after a steady cinematic diet of stale, butter-soaked popcorn.”
– Christopher Schobert, The Buffalo News
“Riveting from its first moments, “The Connection” is fascinating in its presentation of character, as well as for its glimpse into the workings of an international drug empire and into the ways an imaginative cop found to chip at its power.”
– Mike LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
“The film is engaging, propulsive, cut with rare brio, chockablock with consummate tough-guy business.”
– Alan Scherstuhl, Village Voice
“A procedural epic propelled by visceral action sequences and an unusually thrilling soundtrack.”
– John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter
“Its ’70s sun-and-sin-on-the-Côte d’Azur vibe is electric.”
– Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly
Directed and co-written by Cédric Jimenez, THE CONNECTION was entirely shot on 35 mm and is the European flipside to William Friedkin’s The French Connection.
A stylish, 70’s-period crime thriller inspired by true events, it tells the story of real-life Marseilles magistrate Pierre Michel (Jean Dujardin) and his relentless crusade to dismantle the most notorious drug smuggling operation in history: the French Connection.
In his crosshairs is charismatic and wealthy kingpin, Gatean “Tany” Zampa (Gilles Lellouche), who runs the largest underground heroin trade into the States. Though the fearless and tenacious Michel, aided by a task force of elite cops, will stop at nothing–including boldly orchestrated drug raids, devastating arrests, and exacting interrogations–to ensure the crime ring’s demise, Zampa’s “La French” always seems one step ahead.
As La French mounts its retaliation, Michel will be forced to make the most difficult decision of his life: to continue waging his war, or ensure his family’s safety, before it’s too late. (C) Drafthouse
