District 13
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| District 13 | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Pierre Morel |
| Produced by | Luc Besson Bernard Grenet |
| Written by | Luc Besson Bibi Naceri |
| Starring | Cyril Raffaelli David Belle Tony D'Amario Bibi Naceri Dany Verissimo |
| Distributed by | EuropaCorp (France) |
| Release date(s) | November 10, 2004 |
| Running time | 85 minutes |
| Language | French |
| Gross revenue | $9,391,937 |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
District 13 is the English-language release of the 2004 French action film, Banlieue 13, directed by Pierre Morel and produced by Luc Besson.[1] It was also released in North America as District B13.[2]
The film is notable for its depiction of parkour in a number of stunt sequences that were completed without the use of wires or computer generated effects. Because of this, one critic has drawn comparisons to the popular Thai film Ong-Bak.[3]
David Belle, the founder of parkour, appears in the film as one of the main characters.
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
In 2010, a Parisian slum (Banlieue) called District 13, is overrun by gangsters, drugs and violence. The authorities have walled off the district and abandoned it, forcing the decent inhabitants to survive without education, proper utilities, or police protection. One resident, Leïto, wages a one-man war against the gang lord Taha to keep his building safe. He has captured a large quantity of cocaine, which incites Taha to send his thugs to recover the merchandise. Leïto destroys the cocaine and uses parkour to evade Taha's thugs. Taha kidnaps Leïto's sister Lola to use against him, but Leïto manages to invade Taha's base, rescue his sister, and kidnap Taha in turn. Leïto takes Taha to the police office at the edge of the district perimeter, but the police are in the process of abandoning their position. They release Taha and allow him to take Lola with him to avoid a confrontation with his gang. In addition, they arrest Leïto, but he kills the police chief in the process for handing over Lola.
Six months later, outside of District 13, an undercover police officer named Damien infiltrates a gangster's underground casino and attempts to arrest the gangster. His extraction procedure fails, however, forcing him to fight his way through an army of thugs to escape the casino. Upon the mission's completion, Damien immediately receives another assignment. He is told that Taha has stolen a nuclear weapon that is set to detonate in 24 hours. His mission is to convince Leïto, imprisoned these last six months for murdering the police chief, to lead him to Taha's base so that he can disarm the bomb.
Damien attempts to pass himself off as a fellow prisoner and helps Leïto escape to B13, but Leïto sees through Damien's act and abandons him. After fighting off some of the local toughs, Damien locates Leïto and admits the truth. They team up to disarm the bomb and rescue Lola. The pair surrenders to Taha in order to gain access to his base. There, they discover that Taha has rigged the warhead to a launcher and is prepared to blackmail the government with it. Taha demands a high ransom, which is refused by Damien's government contact. The pair escape, and while Taha's thugs pursue them, he discovers that the government has emptied all of his offshore accounts. Bankrupt, Taha is killed by his own thugs.
Leïto and Damien fight their way to the tower holding Lola and the bomb. Once there, Damien calls his contact to receive the deactivation code. Leïto recognizes the code as a reference to the bomb's location and the day's date. He deduces that the government has set them up and the code will actually detonate the bomb. He fights Damien to prevent him from entering the code. The timer runs out and the bomb does not detonate, proving Leïto's theory. The pair return to the government building with the bomb and force the administrator to admit that he had planned to blow up B13 as a means to get rid of it. The confession has been taped and is immediately broadcast by pirate television transmission.
The pair's actions cause a major scandal that sparks public support for B13. Leïto and Damien depart as friends, and Lola kisses Damien to encourage him to visit B13 in the future.
[edit] Cast
- Cyril Raffaelli as Damien, a tough undercover police officer who believes in law and government.
- David Belle as Leïto, an acrobatic ghetto-dweller who fights the gangs and feels cheated by the system.
- Bibi Naceri as Taha, a major gang lord in District 13 who is prone to killing his own thugs.
- Tony D'Amario as K2, a mountainous thug employed by Taha.
- Dany Verissimo as Lola, Leïto's equally defiant sister.
[edit] Political context
 |
This section may contain an unpublished synthesis of published material that conveys ideas not attributable to the original sources. Please help Wikipedia by adding sources whose main topic is "District 13". See the talk page for details.(October 2007) |
In 2005, the year after the film's release in France, major riots erupted throughout the real "banlieues" and housing projects of Paris, then spreading to other towns. These suburbs ("banlieues") outline the central districts of Paris, although as opposed to the film, no wall exists to separate them into an official ghetto. However, as in the film, these areas are widely seen as ignored or feared by more prosperous elements in French society. They are often under the control of gangs, and poverty and unemployment are rampant, many blaming them on employers' discrimination. Set only six years in the future from its release date, the banlieues of the film were obviously based on modern-day reality.
The French government struck back at the rioters with harsh rhetoric, with minister Nicolas Sarkozy causing the greatest controversy. The response of Sarkozy is comparable to the politicians in the film, showing that the film highlights real concerns within the French suburbs and the motives for riots.
Sarkozy used a similar word, "scum", in response to a woman living in the banlieue asking him if he'd clean up the "scum". The word "racaille", scum, is most commonly used by the suburban youth as a tribal mark. In French slang it is translated as "caïra" (which is merely a syllables inversion), which can be seen as positive or neutral. This is similar to the word used by the corrupt politician in the film to characterize residents of Banlieue 13.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ Hernandez, Eugene (November 21, 2005). Magnolia's Plans Spring '06 Release for French Parkour Action Title, "District 13". Biz. indieWIRE. Retrieved on 2006-03-14.
- ^ District B13
- ^ Orndorf, Brian (May 26, 2006). FilmJerk.com - Reviews - District 13, "District 13". FilmJerk. Retrieved on 2007-04-07.
- ^ http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1129571,00.html
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Official
- Banlieue 13 Official site (French)
- District 13 Official site (English)
- District 13 Official site (English)
- Parkour
- Video Clip
- Belle takes a fall during the promotional tour for District 13 on Parkour-videos.com
- Other
- Interview with director Pierre Morel at SFFWorld.com
- Banlieue 13 at the Internet Movie Database
- District B13 at Rotten Tomatoes
- Video at YouTube
|
||||||||
