District 13
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| District 13 | |
 French-language poster |
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| Directed by | Pierre Morel |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Luc Besson Bernard Grenet |
| Written by | Luc Besson Bibi Naceri |
| Starring | Cyril Raffaelli David Belle Tony D'Amario Bibi Naceri Dany Verissimo |
| Distributed by | EuropaCorp (France) |
| Release date(s) | November 10, 2004 |
| Running time | 85 min. |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
| Gross revenue | $9,391,937 |
| Followed by | District B13 Ultimatum |
District 13 is the English language release title of the 2004 French action film, Banlieue 13, directed by Pierre Morel, and written and produced by Luc Besson.[1] It was also released in North America as District B13.[2]
The film is notable for its depiction of parkour in a number of stunt sequences that were completed without the use of wires or computer generated effects. Because of this, some critics have drawn comparisons to the popular Thai film Ong-Bak.[3][4][5]
David Belle, a co-founder of parkour, appears in the film as one of the main characters.
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[edit] Plot
In 2010, social problems such as violence, drugs and organized crime have overrun the Poorer suburbs of Paris, especially a Banlieue commonly referred to as B13 (Banlieue 13, or District 13 or Borough 13 in English), a slum or ghetto with a population of some two million. Unable to control B13, the authorities construct a high wall topped by barbed wire around B13 and largly abandoned, forcing the decent inhabitants within to survive without education, proper utilities, or police protection behind the containment wall. Police checkpoints stop anybody from going in or out.
Three years later, an almost feudal system has developed amongst the street gangs of B13. The area is now flooded with hard drugs such as heroin and completely controlled by gangsters. Certain blocks are ruled over by various individuals and one high rise apartment block is looked after by an athletic and street-wise man known as Leïto. Leïto hates drugs and injustice and wages a one-man war against a neighboring gang lord named Taha Bemamud to keep his own building and people safe and free of drugs. Leïto captures 20 kg of cocaine from Taha, worth over a million euros, which incites Taha to send his thugs to recover the merchandise, led by the towering K2. Leïto destroys the cocaine by using bleach and uses parkour to evade Taha's thugs through the building and across rooftops.
Taha kidnaps Leïto's younger sister Lola to use against him, but Leïto manages to invade Taha's base, rescue his sister, and kidnap Taha in turn. Leïto takes Taha to the police office at the edge of the district perimeter, but the police are in the process of abandoning their position on orders from the French Ministry, and are also threefold outnumbered by Taha's gang. The police release Taha and allow him to take Lola with him to avoid a confrontation. In addition, they put Leïto in a cell also to contain the situation, but Leïto kills the police chief in the process for handing over Lola.
Six months later, outside of B13 in the affluent areas of Paris, an undercover police captain named Damien Tomaso infiltrates a underground casino and attempts to arrest the gangster who own's it. His extraction procedure fails, however, forcing him to fight his way through an army of thugs to escape the casino. Upon the mission's completion, Damien immediately receives another assignment from his chief and also the Defence Secretary of France, Mr Krüger. He is told that Taha has stolen an experimental neutron bomb that is set to detonate in 24 hours. His mission is to convince Leïto, imprisoned for months, to lead him to Taha's base so that he can disarm the bomb.
Damien attempts to pass himself off as a fellow prisoner and helps Leïto escape to B13, but Leïto sees through Damien's act and abandons him. After fighting off some of the local thugs, Damien locates Leïto and admits the truth. They team up to disarm the bomb and rescue Lola. The pair surrenders to Taha in order to gain access to his base. There, they discover that Taha has rigged the warhead to a missile launcher, pointed towards the center of Paris and is prepared to blackmail the government with it. Taha demands a high ransom, which is refused by Damien's government contact. The pair escape, and while Taha's thugs pursue them, he discovers that the government has emptied all of his offshore accounts in the Bahamas. Bankrupt and unable to pay his thugs, Taha is killed by them. This leaves K2, a more sympathetic character, in charge and K2 has a moment of reconciliation with Leïto, suggesting that peace is possible in the future within B13.
Leïto and Damien fight their way to the tower holding Lola and the bomb. Once there, Damien calls his contact to receive the deactivation code, 9293709B13. Leïto recognizes the code as a reference to the bomb's location (9293 is the district's area code), the day's date (7 September), and the district, B13. Leïto deduces that the government has set them up and the code will actually detonate the bomb instead of deactivating it. He fights Damien to prevent him from entering the code. The timer runs out and the bomb does not detonate, proving Leïto's theory.
The pair return to the government building with the bomb and force Mr Krüger to admit that he had planned to blow up B13 as a means to get rid of it. The confession has been taped and is immediately broadcast by pirate television transmission. The pair's actions cause a major scandal that sparks public support for B13. Soon the rest of the government promises to tear down the containment wall and bring back schools and police to B13. Leïto and Damien depart as friends, and Lola kisses Damien to encourage him to visit B13 in the future.
[edit] Cast and characters
- Cyril Raffaelli as Capt. Damien Tomaso, a tough undercover police officer who believes in law and government.
- David Belle as Leïto, an acrobatic ghetto-dweller who fights the gangs and feels cheated by the system.
- Bibi Naceri as Taha Bemamud, a major gang lord in District 13 who is prone to killing his own thugs.
- Tony D'Amario as K2, a mountainous thug employed by Taha.
- Dany Verissimo as Lola, Leïto's equally defiant sister.
- François Chattot as Mr Krüger, the Minister of Defence who has secretly masterminded a plot to do away with District 13 once and for all.
[edit] Reception
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This section requires expansion. |
District 13 received largely positive reviews and currently has an impressive 80% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes[6] and is something of a cult classic having enjoyed worldwide success. The film is notable for its depiction of parkour in a number of stunt sequences that were completed without the use of wires or computer generated effects. Because of this, some critics have drawn comparisons to the popular Thai film Ong-Bak, also considered one of the greatest action films of recent times.[3][4][5]
[edit] Sequel
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This section requires expansion. |
Filming of the sequel to District 13, titled District B13 Ultimatum, began in August 2008 in Belgrade, Serbia,[7] and was expected to continue until October 2008.[8] David Belle and Cyril Raffaelli are set to reprise their original roles of Leito and Damien, respectively.[9] Banlieue 14 will be directed by Patrick Alessandrin with Luc Besson again producing and writing the screenplay.
The original French language version District B13 Ultimatum was released in France on February 18, 2009.[10] The English language version was released in the United States on 12 June 2009[11]
[edit] References
- ^ Hernandez, Eugene (November 21, 2005). "Magnolia's Plans Spring '06 Release for French Parkour Action Title, "District 13"". Biz. indieWIRE. http://www.indiewire.com/biz/2005/11/magnlias_plans.html. Retrieved on 2006-03-14.
- ^ District B13
- ^ a b Orndorf, Brian (May 26, 2006). "FilmJerk.com - Reviews - District 13, "District 13"". FilmJerk. http://www.filmjerk.com/reviews/article.php?id_rev=841. Retrieved on 2007-04-07.
- ^ a b Faraci, Devin (June 2, 2006). "Chud.com - Reviews - District 13, "District 13"". Chud.com. http://www.chud.com/articles/articles/6824/1/REVIEW-DISTRICT-B-13/Page1.html. Retrieved on 2008-07-13.
- ^ a b McAllister, Matt (December 8, 2005). "Futuremovies.co.uk - Reviews - District 13, "District 13"". Futuremovies.co.uk. http://www.futuremovies.co.uk/review.asp?ID=431. Retrieved on 2008-07-13.
- ^ http://uk.rottentomatoes.com/m/district_b13/
- ^ Radojkovic, Marija (2008-07-22). "Luc Besson shoots his new film in Belgrade". Blic Online. http://www.blic.co.rs/culture.php?id=2564. Retrieved on 2008-09-05.
- ^ Belle, Jean-François. "CASTING Banlieue 13 'la suite'" (in French). Official Parkour Blog. http://www.sportmediaconcept.com/parkour/CASTING-Banlieue-13-la-suite-_a92.html. Retrieved on 2008-09-05. "Attention le tournage est prévu entre juillet et octobre 2008"
- ^ Banlieue 13:Ultimatum IMDB
- ^ "Banlieue 13 ultimatum" (in French). AlloCiné. http://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm=137189.html. Retrieved on 2008-11-01.
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1247640/releaseinfo
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Official
- Banlieue 13 Official website (French)
- District 13 Official website (English)
- District 13 Official website (English)
- Other
- Interview with director Pierre Morel at SFFWorld.com
- Banlieue 13 at the Internet Movie Database
- District 13 at Allmovie
- District B13 at Rotten Tomatoes
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