La Balance
Encyclopedia
La Balance is a 1982 French film directed by Bob Swaim
and starring Nathalie Baye
, Philippe Léotard
, Tchéky Karyo
, Maurice Ronet
and Jean-Paul Comart
. It won the César Award for Best Film
, Best Actor
and Best Actress
, and was nominated for Most Promising Actor (twice), Best Director, Best Writing - Original and Best Editing.
in Paris
. Her former racketeer boyfriend and pimp
, Dede, has been excluded from the business of a local mob
boss, Roger Massina, because of a romantic dispute over Nicole. When a police informant is killed, the police decide to recruit Dede as a replacement. The police raid Dede's apartment, find a gun, and blackmail him into becoming an informant using this and other threats.
The police want to get to Massina, and they try to use Dede to do it. Dede agrees to participate in a set-up, and tries to return to the good side of Massina by telling him about a rich antique dealer he has found to rob (actually part of the set-up), and asking him for help. Massina yields to greed and agrees to set something up, letting Dede partially back into his organization.
On the day of the heist, Dede is part of the team. But Massina doesn't trust Dede entirely, so he replaces him at the last minute with his semi-psychotic, gun-happy henchman, Petrovic. Dede calls the police and tries to call off the set-up, but one of the police officers, Le Belge, wearing a Walkman, doesn't hear the call and continues with the plan. Le Belge stages a traffic accident that blocks Massina's van, as planned. As Le Belge stalls Massina's van, Petrovic becomes suspicious, and suddenly begins shooting everyone in sight, killing several civilians and nearly killing Le Belge (who is saved by his Walkman, which absorbs the bullet). Massina slips away into the Métro, but Petrovic is chased and trapped by the police after he ruthlessly kills an officer. Le Capitaine, aware that Petrovic has just shot a number of innocent people and several police officers, shoots Petrovic in the head at point-blank range, killing him, then calmly instructs his officers to reload Petrovic's gun.
Dede tries to escape but is found by Massina, who prepares to execute him in an alley. Dede overpowers Massina, however, and turns the gun on him, shooting him in the mouth and killing him. Dede then goes into hiding, knowing that Massina's crew will come looking for him. But Nicole, his girlfriend, fearing for Dede's life, deliberately turns him in to the police, who arrest him, on the assumption that he's safer in jail than on the streets. The movie ends with Nicole watching from a car and crying as Dede is taken away by the police.
Bob Swaim
Robert F. "Bob" Swaim is an American film director, born in Chicago on November 2, 1943. He grew up in the Reseda area of Los Angeles and graduated from Reseda High School in 1961 and with a degree in anthropology from California State University, Northridge, then called San Fernando Valley State...
and starring Nathalie Baye
Nathalie Baye
Nathalie Marie Andrée Baye is a French film, television, and stage actress. After having dance and dramatic education, Baye began acting in 1970. She has appeared in more than 70 films. She won four César Awards for Sauve qui peut , Une étrange affaire , La Balance , and Le Petit Lieutenant...
, Philippe Léotard
Philippe Léotard
Philippe Léotard was a French actor, poet, and singer....
, Tchéky Karyo
Tchéky Karyo
-Early life:Karyo was born in Istanbul to a Greek mother and Sephardic-Jewish father and raised in Paris, France. He studied drama at the Cyrano Theatre and later became a member of the Daniel Sorano Company, playing many classical roles.-Career:...
, Maurice Ronet
Maurice Ronet
Maurice Ronet was a French film actor, director and writer.-Biography:Maurice Ronet was born Maurice Julien Marie Robinet in Nice, Alpes Maritimes, the only child of professional stage actors Émile Robinet and Gilberte Dubreuil. He made his stage debut in 1941, along side his parents, in Sacha...
and Jean-Paul Comart
Jean-Paul Comart
Jean-Paul Comart is a Belgian actor best known for his appearances in French film in the 1980s. He has appeared in films, TV and in the theatre....
. It won the César Award for Best Film
César Award for Best Film
The winners and nominees of the César Award for Best Film .-1970s:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:...
, Best Actor
César Award for Best Actor
This is the list of winners and nominees of the César Award for Best Actor .-1970s:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:...
and Best Actress
César Award for Best Actress
List of winners and nominees of the César Award for Best Actress .-Winners and nominees:...
, and was nominated for Most Promising Actor (twice), Best Director, Best Writing - Original and Best Editing.
Plot
Nicole is a streetwalkerProstitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. Her former racketeer boyfriend and pimp
Pimp
A pimp is an agent for prostitutes who collects part of their earnings. The pimp may receive this money in return for advertising services, physical protection, or for providing a location where she may engage clients...
, Dede, has been excluded from the business of a local mob
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
boss, Roger Massina, because of a romantic dispute over Nicole. When a police informant is killed, the police decide to recruit Dede as a replacement. The police raid Dede's apartment, find a gun, and blackmail him into becoming an informant using this and other threats.
The police want to get to Massina, and they try to use Dede to do it. Dede agrees to participate in a set-up, and tries to return to the good side of Massina by telling him about a rich antique dealer he has found to rob (actually part of the set-up), and asking him for help. Massina yields to greed and agrees to set something up, letting Dede partially back into his organization.
On the day of the heist, Dede is part of the team. But Massina doesn't trust Dede entirely, so he replaces him at the last minute with his semi-psychotic, gun-happy henchman, Petrovic. Dede calls the police and tries to call off the set-up, but one of the police officers, Le Belge, wearing a Walkman, doesn't hear the call and continues with the plan. Le Belge stages a traffic accident that blocks Massina's van, as planned. As Le Belge stalls Massina's van, Petrovic becomes suspicious, and suddenly begins shooting everyone in sight, killing several civilians and nearly killing Le Belge (who is saved by his Walkman, which absorbs the bullet). Massina slips away into the Métro, but Petrovic is chased and trapped by the police after he ruthlessly kills an officer. Le Capitaine, aware that Petrovic has just shot a number of innocent people and several police officers, shoots Petrovic in the head at point-blank range, killing him, then calmly instructs his officers to reload Petrovic's gun.
Dede tries to escape but is found by Massina, who prepares to execute him in an alley. Dede overpowers Massina, however, and turns the gun on him, shooting him in the mouth and killing him. Dede then goes into hiding, knowing that Massina's crew will come looking for him. But Nicole, his girlfriend, fearing for Dede's life, deliberately turns him in to the police, who arrest him, on the assumption that he's safer in jail than on the streets. The movie ends with Nicole watching from a car and crying as Dede is taken away by the police.
Cast
- Nathalie BayeNathalie BayeNathalie Marie Andrée Baye is a French film, television, and stage actress. After having dance and dramatic education, Baye began acting in 1970. She has appeared in more than 70 films. She won four César Awards for Sauve qui peut , Une étrange affaire , La Balance , and Le Petit Lieutenant...
- Nicole Danet - Philippe LéotardPhilippe LéotardPhilippe Léotard was a French actor, poet, and singer....
- Dede Laffont - Richard BerryRichard Berry (actor)Richard Berry is a French actor, film director and screenwriter. He has appeared in nearly 100 films since 1972. He starred in The Violin Player, which was entered into the 1994 Cannes Film Festival.-Selected filmography:...
- Mathias Palouzi - Christophe MalavoyChristophe Malavoy-Selected filmography:* Madame Bovary* Le Cri du hibou* La Balance* A Captain's Honor* Le Voyage en douce* Death in a French Garden-External links:...
- Tintin - Maurice RonetMaurice RonetMaurice Ronet was a French film actor, director and writer.-Biography:Maurice Ronet was born Maurice Julien Marie Robinet in Nice, Alpes Maritimes, the only child of professional stage actors Émile Robinet and Gilberte Dubreuil. He made his stage debut in 1941, along side his parents, in Sacha...
- Massina - Tchéky KaryoTchéky Karyo-Early life:Karyo was born in Istanbul to a Greek mother and Sephardic-Jewish father and raised in Paris, France. He studied drama at the Cyrano Theatre and later became a member of the Daniel Sorano Company, playing many classical roles.-Career:...
- Petrovic - Jean-Paul ComartJean-Paul ComartJean-Paul Comart is a Belgian actor best known for his appearances in French film in the 1980s. He has appeared in films, TV and in the theatre....
- Le Belge - Bernard Freyd - Le capitaine
- Albert Dray - Carlini
- Florent PagnyFlorent PagnyFlorent Pagny is a French musician. He has also acted in many French films. He records work in French, Italian, Spanish and English, and his greatest hits include "N'importe quoi", "Savoir aimer", "Ma Liberté de penser" and "Caruso" .As of 2008, he has sold 4,268,980 copies of singles,...
- Simoni - Jean-Daniel Laval - Arnaud
- Luc-Antoine Diquero - Picard
- Anne-Claude Salimo - Sabrina