This film is based on a true story
You drank, this morning?
You won't answer?
You can leave if you want.
You're not to blame, Mr Schneider.
You were just in the wrong place.
No, I never should've been there.
Meaning?
I don't want to discuss it.
What will you discuss?
You believe in God, doctor?
Yes, or I wouldn't be here.
God's a son of a bitch.
Some day, I'll kill him.
Where we going?
Put it out! No smoking!
My home's the other way.
Turn around!
Stay on your seat.
In the middle, it's dangerous.
You hear me?
Take me home!
Junket's over, fella!
You got 30 seconds
to come out unarmed,
without a hostage!
Only 15 seconds!
OK, open it.
I'm a cop,
you assholes!
Don't resist!
On your knees! Don't move!
On your knees, I said!
Louis, wake up!
Louis, shit! Wake up!
Here.
Internal Affairs
are waiting for you.
Why am I in here?
You hi-jacked a bus last night.
With 3.40 grams of alcohol
in your blood.
I've pissed on myself...
Capt. Ringwald, Internal Affairs.
Armed hi-jacking of
a Police vehicle, hostage taking...
Any other cop
would already be jailed.
But you're not any other cop.
So we're keeping this confidential.
We'll indemnify
the passengers and driver.
You won't be charged.
No plaintiffs, no charges:
No sanctions.
No rap for us,
and you save your ass.
But you won't escape the decision
taken by the brass in this case:
You're out of the CID
and transferred to night duty,
on the complaints desk.
You'll surrender your weapon,
and won't retrieve it
until further notice.
Anyway, you won't be needing it.
We were lenient
in view of your fine record,
and the tragedy you endured.
But nothing further
will be tolerated.
Any relapse and you're out.
Savvy?
Go home.
Take a shower:
You stink of piss and booze.
That guy's a time-bomb.
He'll explode in our face.
We're all time-bombs, here.
Even you?
Look in my file, you'll see.
I already did.
I saw no answer,
just a question.
Why did a woman like you wind up
in this shit-hole?
What's a woman like me?
A woman with your exemplary record
shouldn't be in charge
of these degenerates.
They enable me to keep
a grip on this city, sir.
And why I wound up here,
is my business.
Go in.
Your name is
Charles, Robert, Emile, Subra.
Born February 17, 1938
in Chteauroux
to Robert Subra and Jeanne Lantier.
You were sentenced
to 2 years for theft,
March 8, 1964,
to 4 years for attempted homicide,
June 13, 1967,
and to 7 years, for statutory rape,
November 6, 1971.
Freed in September 1976,
you settled in Gardanne,
and disappeared from view
until Dec 5, 1982,
when you were arrested
for the murder
of Mr and Mrs Maxence.
In spite of evidence from witnesses,
who identified you as the murderer,
you have always denied it.
Yet you were sentenced
to life imprisonment
by the Court of Bouches-du-Rhne
on January 13, 1983
for kidnapping, torture,
barbaric acts,
rape, followed by
premeditated murder.
Imprisoned in Nmes,
and later in Marseilles,
you agreed to undergo
psychiatric treatment
and dedicated yourself
to God and to religion.
Later you were moved
to the Mallemort facility
where you appear today
before the Appeals Board
regarding your request
for release on probation.
First question, Mr Subra:
Do you deserve to be released?
I'll soon be 69, sir.
I've spent
over half my life in jail.
a changed man with the help of God.
Today, nearing the end of my life,
all I want is...
for the few years
I have left to live,
to help my neighbor,
and atone for my mistakes,
and appease my conscience.
That means he's getting out?
It means he may get out.
It'll be decided in a month.
Note that...
if the Board rules in his favor,
his probation isn't irrevocable.
He'll be bound by conditions
that he must respect.
But he was sentenced to life!
I know, Justine.
But in view of his age,
his health problems
and his good behavior in jail,
he's eligible for
a reduction of his sentence.
That's the law.
He butchered my father,
tortured, raped
and murdered my mother.
That's good behavior?
I hope he kills again,
it'll serve you right!
It's George.
We got a "stiff",
in a villa in Cassis.
Seems our guy is at it again.
I'll be there in fifteen.
Hi!
The bunghole brigade!
- Hi, Jumbo.
- Hi.
Looked good for her age.
We know her name?
Vera Rosenberg,
widow,
a daughter, 30, who lives in the US.
Made a killing in real estate,
has offices on the Riviera,
and Paris,
owns luxury hotels abroad:
Stinking rich.
- Can we move her?
- We can.
What was the doc's report?
Same as the others:
Raped,
sodomized, beaten to death,
and strangled.
I reached her daughter:
She's flying in from Chicago.
And the cat?
What cat?
She wants it or not?
I'd say she doesn't!
It'll be put to sleep.
Going to the autopsy tomorrow?
I'm going nowhere, I'm off the case.
Kovalski and his boys have it now.
I fucked up, George.
You're still in the race.
Neighbors hear anything?
Nothing.
As if the bastard sneaks in
through the sewer system.
In any case, they know him.
No break-in.
They always seem to let him in.
Maybe he says he's a lineman,
or a cop.
No one lets anyone in around here,
unless they know them.
Checked her address books?
Diaries, phone books,
rifled 'em all:
No matching numbers.
We're going over
a year's phone bills,
home phone and cell.
Try all the swinger's clubs,
there may be a sex angle.
I'll keep at it "on my end".
What's "your end"?
I'm on night desk now.
As of tomorrow.
Hi, puss.
You're alone, too.
So...
Come along.
Easy now.
Where's it from?
Don't worry, no one'll ask for them.
Five hundred?
It's worth 4 times that!
That's it, or you can shove 'em!
You fuckers!
What about the rest?
It's tinsel for oldies,
I'm not interested.
Your hookers will be.
The bracelet'll get you free bj's
for 10 years!
You CID boys have bigger balls
than brains!
Not as big as your livers,
right Jumbo?
I'll stop by tomorrow for my dough.
Roques!
Thanks.
See you.
You OK?
- Hi, Mr Schneider.
- Hi.
Hi, sir.
You got put on night desk?
Pity, I've got a "goodie": His DNA.
In skin and blood
from the dame's mouth.
He fucked her so hard,
caught his dick on her teeth.
Left some meat there.
So who do I give it to?
Kovalski.
He's got the case now.
That clown aced you out?
I can see why you're pissed off!
Buy you a drink?
Louis!
He's just a pastime.
I didn't ask.
It's your first night?
Yeah, my first night.
I'm precinct boss this week,
if you need anything...
I need no one. I'm fine.
I wanted none of this.
You know that.
No one wanted it.
Yet it happened.
Want some compote?
Nothing more, thanks.
Richard OK?
He's fine...
- Here.
- Thanks.
Is your work OK?
It's OK.
Your sister called today.
She can't face coming for the Mass.
Reminds her of too much pain.
Did she say it, or her dumb husband?
It's her right. Don't be mad at her.
At the time,
you forbade us to cry, remember?
as if nothing had happened.
It was that, or I shot us all.
- Baralier!
- Present.
- Bonot!
- Present.
- Bozeil!
- Present.
Riu!
Riu?
"Give us this day our daily bread,
"forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive trespasses to others,
"Lead us not into temptation,
deliver us from evil,
"For Thine is the kingdom,
"the power and the glory,
"forever and ever,
"Amen."
O Lord,
You who suffer the death
of Your friends,
Let us not sink
into the grief of death
of our loved ones...
It pains You,
the death of those we love.
Through Christ who agonized
for each of us,
You suffer for all our ordeals.
Through his Resurrection,
You alleviate
our burdens,
open our eyes
to the amazement of love.
Through him, you tell us
over and over:
"You, come to me,
"I am gentle and humble of heart,
"in me, you shall find peace,
"and by trusting in me,
"find recovery."
Rest,
recovery...
those are words who rarely echo
in everyone's heart, here.
Words
that have no place facing the pain
and the grief
of all the tears shed
since that day,
the day when Helen and Etienne
were removed from us, so brutally.
Shut up!
Stop it!
Shut up!
Justine,
I'm leaving.
We're going home.
Not coming to the buffet?
Kids are tired,
Franois works tomorrow.
Why come if it bores you?
Don't start.
This buffet matters, dammit!
To whom?
To Granpa, to you, to us!
I'll remember my way,
don't teach me!
I should've...
Should've what?
Let him kill us?
Yes, you should have.
These are her last photos.
Take one.
Gives me pleasure...
You have kids, Mr Schneider?
I have a little girl.
We put kids in this world...
We live in fear of losing them...
We reassure ourselves saying
misfortune
is for others, not for us.
Then one day, it happens.
Wrecks everything,
all your memories,
all your feelings,
empties your heart of tears.
Settles in and watches you suffer.
You say you'll never survive it,
and then...
Then life...
takes hold of you.
You don't know why.
When I saw you at the gate,
I thought...
you'd come to say
you'd arrested him.
I need to see your daughter's room.
Yes, of course.
Come along.
It was her dog, Marius.
Her 10th birthday gift.
They were inseparable.
She took him everywhere.
There was no dog,
when she was found.
We were keeping him.
As we did when she went abroad,
for her work.
Is it still here?
No.
He let himself die.
You still here?
Subra!
Come along.
25 years ago you entered my house
to destroy my family...
You plunged my life into darkness.
That night, I found out
that monsters weren't fantasies.
They had a face:
Yours.
Now my parents are dead,
my dreams are shattered,
and the monster is getting out.
Everybody forgot him,
except me.
Pregnant.
Where you going?
I have an appointment.
Working tonight?
I may stop by.
What's with this mutt?
It was at Michle Sanders' place.
What were you doing there?
You're off the case!
Are you addicted to shit?
Shut up, cover me,
and go along with me.
It may even move you up a rung.
It'll get me a reprimand,
and directing traffic!
How did you know it was there?
I didn't.
And you went there?
Intuition...
So after she was killed,
it was alone 10 days,
and no one heard it howl?
Guess so...
Excuse me.
Put him on.
Give me a bottle of J&B.
I have no right to sell to you.
Don't be a pain.
You're the pain.
Didn't you want a dog?
Yeah, but...
Be gentle,
he had an unhappy childhood.
It was HQ. We got a 5th victim.
What shakes?
Suzanne Sarquier, 42,
unmarried, architect.
Seems she's been dead
over a week.
Same body position,
same style, same bruises.
It's signed.
We've been aced a 5th time.
The lady's doggie.
He was guarding the stiff.
Jumped on us, when he saw us.
Over a week, you say?
The flatfoot said that.
Schneider, get back to your desk.
You need me, Kovalski, you know it.
Let me glance inside.
- I need you? Since when?
- Since forever.
You're benched.
Deal with complaints,
and don't bug us.
I'll take you back, Louis.
You'll be to blame
for the next stiffs.
Ask your wife, when you see her.
Get lost, you!
Stop that, both of you!
Cut it out!
That's enough!
Cut it out, Louis!
C'mon, I said!
Kovalski filed a complaint.
IA's coming. It's beyond me.
Means a formal inquiry.
And a breathalyzer.
Wanna know if I'm loaded? I am!
Or I send you
to a hospital for a blood sample.
Do what you want,
I won't blow in it.
Why'd you react that way?
You may end up on a beat.
For you, it's the end.
You want that?
I wanted to do my job.
How can you, Marie?
What?
Let that pig, Kovalski, mount you?
How can you?
He's fucked every whore in town.
You'll let him destroy me?
You were warned.
Please leave us.
Breathalyzer result?
Negative.
Happy birthday, Camille!
Happy birthday, Camille!
Again!
You taken the photo?
Take it!
Shut up!
Why did you tie one on?
I've found the link, George.
All the victims had a pet.
That's our clue.
I've put it down for you.
Nicole Breton had no dog.
Not when we got there.
But there was a dog-basket,
I saw it on a photo.
I contacted
the squad that found the body.
They confirmed it:
There was a mutt there.
A yapping mini-poodle,
the janitor took it off their hands.
The Renoir girl also had a dog.
I went back:
Her mother confirmed it.
There's millions of pets,
and as many owners.
- Isn't it pure chance?
- No.
That's how the fucker gets in.
The animals know him.
KILLER STRIKES AGAIN
Cop slugfest
Charles Subra arrested
What is it?
Nothing.
You read the papers, now?
Sometimes.
It's time you got a life, Justine.
I can't stand it.
Who asked you to?
Hi. Can I speak to the officer
on this photo?
- You a reporter?
- No.
What do you want with him?
It's personal.
Mateo? It's Roques.
Someone wants to talk to Schneider,
will you see her?
I'll send her up.
Office 215, 2nd floor.
My colleague'll take you.
It's a pleasure.
- Thanks.
- That's OK.
He getting into her pants?
If he can still get it up.
Champ, give your gloves a rest!
Left, left right. Go on!
Lay it on!
Bye, deadbeats!
Some guys say
you spill to the press.
Talk behind my back, you see my ass.
Fuck your ass!
How much you get for that shit?
I got nothing, stop it!
The cops are a family, Jumbo.
Don't rat on 'em!
Where's your DNA report
in the Rosenberg case?
You got it, don't crap me.
I got zilch, don't fuck with me!
I put it in your slot.
Ask Schneider, he was with me.
That fucker!
Don't waste water!
This where you live?
Can you sleep
with all these stiffs around?
What do you want?
Guess!
Something intended for me.
What can you mean?
Don't make me wreck this place, pal.
Nice cat.
Leave it alone.
The report
and the DNA samples. Fast!
Dirty beast!
Subra, you're getting a roomie.
He's just a bit depressive,
you can help him.
Get him back among the living.
- What's he in for?
- Killed his wife.
No point in bawling!
God called your wife back,
by dispatching her,
you obeyed His will.
Did you rape and murder
with God's cock?
You're a fraud, Subra!
You impressed those dumb shrinks
by acting holy!
Screw your twisted morality!
Let me cry in peace.
Keep your phony prayers!
Spare me your devotion crap!
Pneumothorax!
One of your cat's broken ribs
pierced his lung.
I'll keep him here a few days,
put him in an oxygen tent,
till he breathes normally.
If that doesn't work,
I'll extract the air
between his ribs.
Sounds complex,
but it's a simple operation.
Cats are very tough, don't worry.
What happened, exactly?
A cop squabble.
What do I owe you?
- You'll pay me when you fetch him.
- Thanks.
Know that place?
It's "The Ritz" for pets.
Private cubicles, exercising
with handlers and trainers,
psych unit if the pet's stressed,
runners to pick up your baby
at home, and bring it back.
Only snag's the price.
You interested?
Could be.
Mr Schneider?
I'm Justine Maxence.
Do you remember me?
Sorry, I'm tired.
Miss!
I had a hard day, forgive me.
I killed those women
just to watch them die,
my friend...
How did you find me?
Your photo, in the paper.
You're the only one who saw...
Who knows.
I need the truth
to stop imagining worse.
A cop's truth can be unpleasant.
It's the one I need to hear.
Same again, please.
I was young, I didn't know
that men did such vile things.
How old is he now?
He'll be 69 in 2 weeks.
I'm sorry.
There's one thing I can't forget.
The look in your mom's eyes.
What shocked us most...
is that she died
fearing the worst for her kids,
and that he made himself a meal
before leaving.
They found traces of it
on the kitchen table.
According to the coroner,
your mother agonized
while he made his chow.
Thank you.
Richard?
Southern Kennels
They go out three times a day
for walks with qualified handlers.
They're only inside
to sleep and eat.
The rest of the time,
they gambol in the park.
How long will you leave it?
How big a staff do you have?
Including
the nighttime security men,
we must have 15 employees.
Care to see the other buildings?
How did you get our address?
I'm a friend of Vera Rosenberg.
She recommended me your place.
Mrs Rosenberg. Indeed,
she's a faithful customer.
She was.
What do you mean?
She was murdered
in her apartment 2 weeks ago.
Murdered, by whom?
We don't know.
Mathias!
I said, don't smoke in the vans!
Some pets can't take it!
He's our house runner,
picks up the pets from the customers
and takes them back.
He's a bit unruly,
but the dogs love him.
I have to go, I'll be in touch.
Fine.
What time did you fall asleep?
I don't know.
No alarm in your cell?
I don't need one.
Was he already asleep?
He was crying.
And you let him cry?
It's the rule among inmates.
Then?
I lay back,
closed my eyes and prayed,
waiting for sleep.
Didn't you realize he might do it?
If all who cry here
killed themselves,
there'd only be empty cells.
You knew he was depressive?
I'm not a doctor.
At night, he left his bunk
and hung himself,
and you heard nothing.
It's the pills I take.
He's been under heavy psychiatric
treatment for years.
OK, you can take him back.
Take him to the infirmary,
till he's over the shock.
Your opinion?
Yours matters, not mine.
No traces of a struggle,
no marks on the body,
no known inmate hatred,
victim was depressive.
For me it's settled:
Suicide. I'll tell the Board,
case closed.
OK, we'll go...
Sorry about the noise.
See you tomorrow.
Why are you here?
I got work for you.
Do some comparative tests.
If the DNA matches,
we've got our killer.
Your goofs cost me this case.
Kovalski reported
the tests you swiped,
now we're both in deep shit.
Screw your investigation!
And the jewelry
you swiped from Vera Rosenberg?
What do you mean?
I want the results in 24 hours.
MR73, collector's model.
Made by Manurhin,
part of a special set
shown in Las Vegas
before it was marketed.
Gift from my first boss,
when he retired.
It's prettier than a dame!
Care for a drink?
What's up?
I found our killer.
We nab him via his DNA.
Works in a ritzy kennel.
Name's Mathias, that's all I know.
What can I do for you?
For the outfit you're a goner.
I can't take you along,
it's too risky.
You'd rather Kovalski
got the laurels?
Wanna remain a Lt all your life?
You tinker in your garage,
your wife's an eyesore,
your kid despises you,
your home's a dump
you can't park your ass in.
Most lives are like that.
Granpa!
He's dead.
Granpa.
In case it turns bad.
Police! Hit the deck!
Fast, you fucker, don't move!
Don't move back!
On the floor!
Drop the bucket!
Put it down!
Louis, you OK?
Sick him!
Louis!
Shoot!
George!
George is dead.
The hospital called.
You knew Mathias Becker's dad
is a cop?
Security branch.
Boss for the Nice area.
He got his son that job.
You'll pay the full price.
I can't do a thing for you.
A dead cop,
a son of a cop, shot by another cop,
who's hardly a cop anymore.
When you dive into shit,
you splash everyone!
And for zero results.
Unauthorized arrests at gunpoint,
acts incompatible
with your present status.
The Press and the Law
will have a heyday!
In short,
we're soaked before it rains.
You could award the arrest
to George Mateo,
bury him honorably,
and stick me with the rest.
Becker's dad
is about to be named
deputy head
of the national Security Branch.
I don't think he, or his superiors,
want it known that his runt
raped and killed 5 women,
and was shot by cops arresting him.
It's a simple deal, Schneider:
You surrender your badge,
and leave with 70% of your salary.
We'll pin the screw-up
on George Mateo,
and find new motives for the arrest.
You agree to clam up
on this tragedy.
What about the families
of the victims?
Right now, to hell with them.
Son of a cop or not,
he committed vile murders,
in the vilest of manners.
Our job is putting a name
and a face on such acts.
Becker died before he could confess.
We'll never know
if he was the killer.
We got his DNA, that nails him.
That evidence
has unfortunately gone astray.
We have no more proof.
The dead can't bother anyone, Capt.
That's how it is.
You have an hour to decide.
If you opt for revealing the truth,
we have all we need
to put you behind bars.
Think of your wife.
Who'll help her while you're inside?
What's your problem with him?
There's no more problem.
Just a broken man
being buried alive.
I need your help, Marie.
Where are you?
Meet me at the morgue.
Roques, it's Kovalski.
Get some guys,
meet me at the morgue.
I'm Capt Angeli.
We need to verify
a corpse delivered today.
Got a court order?
No need, it's an unofficial request.
- What name?
- Becker.
There was a fire in a squat.
We got no room to stack 'em.
What do we do now?
I get his DNA,
and you validate the procedure.
What's this? You can't do that!!
Fuck off, you!
Stay out of it!
Stop!
Zap him, Roques!
You shithead!
Get out of here.
Go away!
I came for my things.
They're in your room.
Nothing was touched.
A lady took care of it.
She paid the rent, she has your cat.
She left this for you.
It's all ready,
you can leave with him.
No, you keep him.
He'll be happier with you.
About his name,
what did you call him?
I didn't call him.
Why'd you do it?
What?
The room, the cat...
Only natural.
You're all I have now.
Subra was freed a month ago.
You want me to find him for you?
What'll you do, once I tell you?
- Don't you want to know?
- Know what?
Know if he's changed...
Or if he's still the same.
They freed him:
They think he's changed.
I have to go, sorry.
You can stay, if you want.
I'm not a good guy, you know.
What's a good guy?
I need an address.
From a social security number.
You can get it easily.
Last time, you got put away,
I almost got fired.
Who had me interned?
It was inevitable, Louis.
Who scuttled the DNA tests?
You just had to do a report.
You'd have saved my head.
It was in the basket
before the blade came down.
Kovalski worked for Becker
on the vice squad.
- The dice were loaded!
- You let 'em do it.
Yes, I did.
The orders came from on high.
I shut up!
Wait in the caf.
You'll have your info tonight.
What's that?
An arrest that turned bad.
How can you stay
with that creep?
I'm like you, Louis. I've lost hope.
He's sheltered in a monastery,
in St Baume.
You didn't say
he was an old "customer".
You didn't give me time.
Why you looking for him?
I'm looking, that's all.
You're not a cop anymore,
don't forget that.
I forget nothing.
Puss?
Can you stay with her?
I don't know.
Have her taken to a hospital.
She may react to the shock
in the next days,
she needs medical supervision.
Thanks for calling me.
Justine! You OK?
Come.
Help me lift her.
I'm coming.
For Marie
Marie,
it's time for me
to join my own kind,
to say farewell,
and ask you
to forgive me for tomorrow.
Louis.
What'll you call your son?
Louis...
For Catherine and
for La, Zo and Ninon,
the 4 women in my life.
To my parents
To Sophie and Caroline
and to the memory
of their parents...