jotix100 Xavier Lombard, a Frenchman, has been living in London after his life was altered by the assassination of his wife and daughter in a horrible car explosion aimed to kill him, as well. He had gone mad, after the tragedy. He left France because he needed a change of pace. He is now a private detective. His old pal, Carlos De Moraes, a Brazilian former colleague, comes to him with a proposal. Xavier is asked by Carlos' wife Deborah Spitz, and her parents, to track down her brother who has mysteriously disappear from the face of the world.The investigation takes Xavier to the missing man's girlfriend, Emily, who meets him with suspicion, aiming a shotgun at him. She has reasons for the hostility, she is caring for Shiva, a boy rescued by the missing man because he was being used for unscrupulous sexual purposes, leaving the boy speechless. Shiva can only mutter a name: "The Austrian" as the man that got him into sexual slavery. Xavier decides to consult with his friend, Nathalie, a French prostitute, because her contacts in the British underworld.Nathalie puts Xavier in contact with what turned out to be a pedophile ring operating among London's elite. His investigation takes him deeply into the gang's territory, even going as far into Mexico to get to the root of how the children are taken away to be groomed for what they in turn will become. A lot of money is at stake. Xavier's finding will reveal who the real mastermind is, something that will stun him.Chris Menges, a distinguished cinematographer himself, directs the film. Written by Marie and Eric Leclere with Mark Mills, this is a thriller adventure that holds the viewer's suspense because it is credible. The insidious work of pedophiles amazes Xavier, having suffered the loss of a daughter himself. The production was photographed by Barry Ackroyd, the Oscar winning cinematographer for "The Hurt Locker". The music score is by Boran Bregovic.Daniel Auteuil, a wonderful French actor, shows courage accepting to appear as the star of this film. Even though his accent is a bit thick, he manages to portray the man at the center of the action. Not being associated with this type of genre, he does well in a film that takes him away from his usual roles in France. The late Katrin Cartlidge appears as Emily. Marianne Denicourt does an excellent Nathalie, and Natassja Kinski plays the grieving sister of the disappeared man. Ciaran Hinds makes the most of his Carlos De Moraes.

MartinHafer First off, you need to know this is NOT a movie you should let your kids see. The subject matter of the movie is the child sex trade and there is a considerable amount of intense violence in the film. I think all but a mature audience would be pretty traumatized by the film--I know I was a bit put off by the disgusting plot initially.Second, this film was a lot of fun for me to watch because I have seen Daniel Auteuil in many films and this was the first time I saw him acting in English and he did an excellent job. In addition, the character he played was a lot different than I was used to seeing. In Hollywood, this role might have been played by a more traditionally "macho" star--but I really think it helped to have a shorter, middle-aged and not particularly hunky guy play the role. It helped to make the plot seem more real.As mentioned above, the plot involves child sexual abuse and the sick soul-less people who profit from buying and selling children. Auteuil plays a private detective who stumbles into this industry when searching for a missing man. But how he resolves this will either totally put you off or offer a great reward depending on your sensibilities. If you can't accept him becoming a vigilante and killing or maiming these evil people, then I suggest you don't watch the film. I admit was totally repulsed by the sexual deviants and found it very satisfying to watch them get killed--particularly the last guy. The film really manages to tap into your visceral disgust for sexual predators--and some may feel disturbed that they can ENJOY watching these men die.About the only negative is the role played by Nastasia Kinski. Her character, at times, seems a little too shrill and annoying--almost more of a caricature than a 3-dimensional woman. Later the movie explains, in part, her over-reactions but I just felt she was a poorly developed character. However, considering she is NOT really that important to the plot, this can be overlooked.The writing, direction and most of the acting is first-rate. Give it a try.

r-e-witt It is interesting that "8MM," with a plot so similar, came out the same year. I found this film more interesting and believable and far less dark and stomach-turning. It is well-filmed and acted with some interesting locations. The tension is well-metered. I enjoyed the colorfulness of the filming. The cosmopolitan/European flavor lends a great deal. I enjoyed the music as well. I would see this film again with a friend.

mariogiannini Auteuil is magnificent as the French loner who has somehow become a lost soul among the shadows of London's West End. The private detective, who discovers the cracks in his own life though an investigation that leads him through the seedy underworld of the child prostitution trade, takes us through the shoking stages of his discovery with much suspense. One of the best modern detective stories to have been filmed in London for many years and a film that deserves much better attention than it got when first released.