Le Choix Des Armes (aka Choice Of Arms) (1981)

A retired criminal (Yves Montand) is now the pillar of respectability. Happily married to a beautiful wife (Catherine Deneuve), he raises horses on his farm. But it all comes crashing down around him when a former comrade in crime (Pierre Forget) comes to him after breaking out from prison. Directed by Alain Corneau (POLICE PYTHON 357). While this French crime thriller is well made, I found it a bit bloated. I know it seems strange to complain about exposition and character's backstories but after awhile it just seemed to be plodding along. I'm not sure what Corneau is trying to say. The police are portrayed as morons, he tries to redeem the psychotic killer played by Gerard Depardieu by showing us he likes kids and animals and had a bad childhood. No, thank you! And after all the violence and threat of violence, the sappy ending is near laughable. There's a nice underscore by Philippe Sarde. With Michel Galabru, Christian Marquand, Jean Claude Dauphin and Gerard Lanvin.