Gamblers (Les Mauvais Joueurs)

Screendaily
Grant Rosenberg in Paris
May 9, 2005

Director: Frederic Balekdjian
Country: France
Year: 2005
85 mins.

Taking place entirely in a garment district of Paris, Gamblers is a French
Mean Streets, a messy, gratifying film about life in an ethnically-mixed
neighbourhood and the art of making a living however one can. The first
feature by the promising Frederic Balekdjian, it makes for an assured,
exciting drama with an eye for big themes and small details.

It has already had little trouble finding a small but committed French
audience and, depending on the marketing and release pattern, could have a
strong international showing as well – possibly along the lines of Stephen
Frears’ similar big city exploration of illegals and working-class
minorities in Dirty Pretty Things.

The at-times brutal story is anchored by Vahe (Elbe), a thirtysomething
Frenchman of Armenian descent working for his father’s failing rug shop and
surrounding himself with his brother and other small time hustlers as well
as modest, hardworking people just trying to get by. His Chinese girlfriend
has just moved out of his apartment, and despite – or because of – his
heartbreak, he takes her illegal immigrant brother under his wing while
trying to get her back.

With its comprehensive understanding of the Sentier neighbourhood it
explores, Gamblers is both a cool gangster movie and a wise study of human
nature, an update-of-sorts of the tragic, streetwise French classics by
Jacques Becker and Jean-Pierre Melville.

Though perhaps featuring one too many drunken brawls, the screenplay has
many smartly written scenes that shift back and forth between drama and
light-heartedness, all in the same moment. At a slender 85 minutes, a little
more time spent delving further into the lives of several supporting
characters would have been welcomed.

Regardless, this film is the type of engaging drama that pleases high-brow
critics and average filmgoers alike; those attracted to realistic,
way-of-life movies that are at once bleak and exciting, where guns are drawn
by people who know how to use them, and also by those who don’t.

At the same time, the film dramatises the demographic shifting of one
neighbourhood in transition, as is it moves from Armenian to Chinese.

In the spirit of the aforementioned Mean Streets as well as Do The Right
Thing, Gamblers succeeds because it presents in an entertaining and
compelling way several days in the lives of complicated, interesting
characters of one neighbourhood.

Like the young Vito Corleone scenes in The Godfather, Part II, Balekdjian
convincingly shows the symbiotic relationships on the merchant-heavy streets
as well as the politics and power brokering that go on in a societal
microcosm.

All the actors are strong, bringing an authenticity to their characters that
do justice to their difficult lives. Simon Akarian (The Truth About Charlie,
Ararat) stands out as the film’s heavy. And lead actor Pascal Elbe shows
great promise, with a tender charisma that belies his character’s hardened
appearance. The kinetic cinematography bolsters the film’s intensity, with
handheld cameras that get at the intimacy of the characters, giving an
almost documentary feel to its street scenes.

Similarly, Balekdjian’s judicious use of mostly American rock n’ roll
(including popular new bands like TV On The Radio), perfectly complement the
visuals.

Prod cos: Pyramide Prods, France 3 Cinema
Int’l sales: Pyramide Int’l
Fr dist: Pyramide Distribution
Exec prod: Laurent Champoussin
Prod: Fabienne Vonier
Scr: Frederic Balekdjian
Cine: Pierre Milon
Ed: Mike Fromentin
Prod des: Catherine Keller
Main cast: Pascal Elbe, Simon Abkarian, Isaac Sharry, Linh-Dan Pham, Teng
Fei Xiang