Finding reverse gear is part of the going self-improvement that this critic is aiming to find and develop; there shouldn’t be any shame in admitting mistakes. So in that mode, I have to admit I was wrong to think that I wouldn’t be wowed by Jan Kounen’s 1997 action thriller Dobermann, which I considered but turned down for review on several occasions. Flash back to the mean streets of Cannes that year, and waiting for someone outside a cinema plastered with lurid adverts for this cops and robbers story; something about the font used for the title and the garish promise of violence put me off, and it’s taken me 25 years to finally give this concentrated crime-epic a fair shake.
But Dobermann is a straight-shooting film if you have the stomach for excess; trigger warnings of all kinds need to be applied here. Joel Houssin fashioned the screenplay from his own crime novels, and the hard-edged scenario goes through you like a dose of salts. The robbers are Dobermann (Vincent Cassel) and his sadistic gang; they’ve evolved a complex method of bait and switch to evade the attentions of the Paris police. Dobermann is a bad ass, but he’s kind to his girlfriend Nat the Gypsy (Monica Bellucci), who is deaf and communicates only via sign-language.
Dobermann and his gang are horrific characters, but in this world, the cops pursuing them are even worse. They’re led by Christini (Tcheky Kayro), an older, experienced cop who will stop at nothing to get his man; Christini homes in on Oliver, a transvestite who is part of Dobermann’s gang, and terrorises Oliver’s family for information, even manhandling his baby. In fact, Christini overplays his hand by kidnapping and taking the baby to a nightclub where he believes Dobermann and his gang are relaxing after a heist, and all hell breaks loose in a ferocious shoot-em-up finale…
Dobermann’s posters seem to suggest comic-book action, but the result is an amped-up cops and robbers thriller that’s not as extreme by today’s standards as it was then; this is a very violent film, but it’s not as splattery as many of today’s mainstream movies. Dobermann also catches notable talent on the way up, with marquee names Cassel, Bellucci, Karyo, Romain Duris and Gasper Noe all on-screen, and the economy is breath-taking; Doberman, the film and the character, don’t wait around. Full of nasty-ass action (the grenade in the motorcycle helmet is a shocker), Dobermann is well worth this 25th anniversary revival; it’s glamorous, gruesome, dangerous, immoral, and a pretty good watch if you’re in the mood for something transgressive. The French love a gritty, amoral policier, and they’re not wrong on this evidence, which feels like The Sweeney movie that never made it to our screens…things jump up a notch real quicky here, so be warned; tough-nuts only need apply…
Blue Finch Film Releasing presents the 25th Anniversary Release of Dobermann in Cinemas and on Digital Download 13 May 2022
Outstanding cast. Came along at a very interesting time for the crime picture. The French love a good villain – and that’s not counting the bad cops. Knock out.
Brillant defense for the ugly french dog but sorry, I hate that film. I tried but I can’t. Maybe I should wait another 25 years.
I hear you, and I do get it. But far worse came down the pike, and maybe in 25 years time, you might see some virtues in this. Maybe.
Think I’ll be having a look for this if Prime or Netflix get it. I need a new Tom please, Hiddlestone will suffice.
I think a hardened veteran like yourself will enjoy the energetic action here.
Have you worn out your Tom Hardy already? I’ve got an old Tom Baker in the backshop that could tide you over until I can get my hands on a Hiddlestone…
Can’t find Hardy, Baker is not suitable in the slightest, I’ll wait for the Hidds.
I’ll see what I can dredge up.
Good. Crack on.
So used to seeing Cassel with a shaved head that I thought that was Antonio Banderas in the pic.
How does a dose of salts go through you? I haven’t had the experience.
1997 was after I gave up on movies at the cinema so I missed this entirely. Might look for it on DVD.
Yup, a tough nut like you should have no problems with this, and despite my reservations, I was pretty much blown away by this last night. I’m not keen on mixing babies and violence, and a baby gets flung across a room here, so be warned.
A dose of salts goes through you in a refreshing way, right? That’s what it means I think.
You swallow the salts with water, they travel through your digestive system and make you poop, all happens very quickly.
Is the correct answer, Boba.
Don’t call me Boba!
Boba Fett!
Pifflebunk.
When the supposed good guys are even worse than the badguys, that’s usually a sign that a movie isn’t for me.
I have to admit, there was a point midway when I thought; this won’t work for the Captain. There also a taboo about babies and guns which is proken several times. Best stick to The Care Bears Down Under.
Yep, kids are a no-go zone for me too.
Well, this is why I follow you after all. To learn that what my instinct might tell me has actual reasons backing it up 😀
I’m happy to steer people away from films they won’t like.
Well, pat yourself on the back because you are doing an excellent job as far as I can tell…
I’ll pass that onto the team, thanks!