Les Voleurs (aka Thieves) (1996)

A cop (Daniel Auteuil), who is the black sheep in a family of professional criminals and treated as an outsider, becomes romantically involved with an unstable petty thief (Laurence Cote), the sister of his brother's (Didier Bezace) punk partner (Benoit Magimel). But he must share her with her philosophy teacher (Catherine Deneuve), who is also her lover. Directed by Andre Techine, the film is fragmented and moves through out various periods, not chronologically, through the characters messy lives. It's a character piece, an excellent one at that, more concerned with the psychological and emotional (or lack of it) landscape of its characters than the police thriller aspect of it. It's slightly overlong but there's so much richness to it that it justifies its length. The striking images are by cinematographer Jeanne Lapoirie (8 FEMMES) and the minimal but effective score by Philippe Sarde (TESS). With Ivan Desny and Julien Riviere as the wise beyond his years 10 year old who seems destined to carry on in the family business.