Franck Spadone (1999)

In the unrated version of this film, professional pickpocker Franck Spadone and his co-horts rob a beautiful stripper (played by Monica Bellucci). But Spadone becomes infatuated with his victim, and soon finds himself in the midst of a gang war because of his affections for her.

Hidden Flop

I read about this movie here and there and thought I gotta see this wow was I wrong. As far as artistic value I'll say this the reason I gave it the one star I gave it was because of the director's eye for bright contrasting color everything else about this movie was below sub-par the acting was bad the plot line was horrid I almost began to doubt if they had a script yes it's that bad. As far as unrated edition there's like one one second of nudity and it isn't even Bellucci! What were the guys who made this stinker thinking? As for film noir yeaks I love film noir and this this reeks if you have to see it rent or borrow or download cheaply but don't buy to keep I promise it's not worth it. I hope I helped someone else not to get ripped for almost 30 bucks like I did when I bought this horrible flop. August 23, 2008

Improper subtitling of a widescreen film

I shall hope that that in future transfers of widescreen foreign movies, studios will remember
the placing of English subtitles must be such that we the viewers MUST be able to read subtitles
on widescreen TV sets. IF not, such as the case with FRANCK SPADONE (an otherwise superior neo-noir film),
then we shall forced to watch with bars on all 4 sides of the screen image. Without a big screen,
which fortunately Ido have, then the visible image will be too small. Oh yes, Monica Bellucci is always a sight
to behold. June 13, 2008

overrated movie of bellucci

this is one of the average movie that i have seen of monica bellucci, there nothing much to rate this i every department be it cinematography, direction, or acting. March 25, 2008

Slick, ultra cool

A setting in brilliant scene, out of the stereotypes of black film, one finds some environments of films of the new wave. Richard Bean has an elegant cinema. August 3, 2007

Effective understated French gangster noir

Aaide from Monica Belucci, the cast of this little-known French noir film is unknowns, but don't let that stop you from watching it. Actor Richard Bean--also mostly unknown--steps behind the camera to direct, and the results are surprisingly good.

The title character, along with two cronies, is a pickpocket who finds marks on the Metro (the French subway system in Paris) as well as in hotels, airports, etc. One of the first people he lifts a purse from, in the film, is stripper Laura (Belucci), with whom he is instantly smitten. As it turns out, the club where she works is a hangout for a group of gangsters who plan on taking over the turf of a rival.

One of the best things about this film is the director's judicious use of understatement, cinematically, to develop the story. Rather than the typical overt approach used in American films, he makes use of suggestion very frequently. This makes the film a lot of fun to watch; the viewer has to connect the dots a lot of the time, but because they're not difficult dots to connect, this tends to keep your attention hooked on the film as it takes you deeper into noir territory.

Of course it also helps to have the ravishing Monica Belucci on board as well as the unwitting femme fatale. Obsession, one of the trusted noir standard emotions, is the focus here and Franck's obsession with Laura relentlessly drives this movie, no question.

All the actors turn in fine performances, which, admittedly, is not that tough because Bean (the writer as well as the director) thankfully uses minimal dialogue. This is a great device, contributing to the above-mentioned understated approach to the story development.

A top-notch addition to contemporary foreign noir films, Franck Spadone is definitely worth seeing. May 12, 2007

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