Above the Law (2017 film)

Above the Law
Film poster
Directed by	François Troukens Jean-François Hensgens
Produced by	Jacques-Henri Bronckart Olivier Bronckart
Starring	Lubna Azabal Olivier Gourmet Bouli Lanners
Release date	10 December 2017 (2017-12-10)
Running time	86 minutes
Countries	Belgium France
Language	French

Above the Law (French : Tueurs) is a 2017 Belgian-French crime thriller film directed by François Troukens and Jean-François Hensgens.

It had its world premiere at the 74th Venice International Film Festival on 5 September 2017. ^[1] It received nine nominations at the 9th Magritte Awards, including Best Film and Best Director for Troukens and Hensgens, and went on to win Best Actress for Lubna Azabal. ^[2]

Plot

Frank Valken, a career criminal, commits a bank heist with his crew. Upon leaving the bank, a group of hitmen arrives and kills witnesses, of which among them is a judge who was investigating a 30-year-old case of unsolved mass murders of Brabant. The killers from 30 years ago seem to have come back, and the police have arrested the wrong perpetrators. ^[3]

Cast

• Lubna Azabal as Lucie Tesla
• Olivier Gourmet as Frank Valken
• Kevin Janssens as Vik
• Bouli Lanners as Danny Bouvy
• Tibo Vandenborre  [ fr ] as Santo
• Bérénice Baoo as Nora
• Anne Coesens as Hélène
• Johan Leysen as Jean Lemoine
• Natacha Régnier as Véronique Pirotte
• Jean-Louis Sbille as Minister Van Bollen
• Slimane Dazi as the prison officer

Reception

The film received positive reviews. ^[4] Jessica Kiang of Variety wrote: "While hardly boasting the most original of plots, it is informed by an authenticity rare for this popular genre with its pre-packaged tropes and formulae." ^{[5] [6]}

Accolades

Award / Film Festival	Category	Recipients	Result
Magritte Awards [7]	Best Film		Nominated
	Best Director	François Troukens and Jean-François Hensgens	Nominated
	Best Actor	Olivier Gourmet	Nominated
	Best Actress	Lubna Azabal	Won
	Best Supporting Actor	Bouli Lanners	Nominated
	Most Promising Actress	Bérénice Baoo	Nominated
	Best First Feature Film		Nominated
	Best Sound	Marc Engels, Thomas Gauder and Ingrid Simon	Nominated
	Best Cinematography	Jean-François Hensgens	Nominated

References

1. Kiang, Jessica (8 September 2017). "Venice Film Review: 'Above the Law' (Tueurs)". Variety. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
2. Richford, Richford (2 February 2019). "Belgium's Magritte Awards: 'Our Struggles' Takes Top Prize". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
3. Engelen, Aurore. "Tueurs: Pure Belgian crime staged by Versus Production". Cineuropa. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
4. "Above the Law (Tueurs) (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes .
5. Kiang, Jessica (8 September 2017). "Venice Film Review: 'Above The Law'". Variety .
6. "'Above the Law' ('Tueurs'): Film Review | Venice 2017". The Hollywood Reporter . 6 September 2017.
7. Heyrendt, Hubert (11 January 2019). "Les nommés aux Magritte 2019 sont connus". La Libre Belgique (in French). Retrieved 13 January 2019.

External links

• Above the Law at IMDb