Last night was my day for going on my first school trip of the year to watch Banlieue 13 [District B13]. I was very impressed by the film.
Set in near future France (2010), the worst ghettos have been walled off by the French, one of the worst being District B13. B13 is run by the crime lord Taha, who is opposed by Leito who is determined to bring Taha down. Leito has stolen some drugs from Taha who wants Leito to be brought to him. There follows a chase in which Leito escapes, but his sister is kidnapped. When he attempts to rescue his sister and take Taha to the authorities he himself is captured, and placed into jail, whilst Taha escapes with his sister.
Six months after this a neutron bomb is stolen by Taha and he plots to destroy Paris with it. However an under-cover cop is tasked with the job of finding the bomb and disarming it. Leito is ‘freed’ from jail in order to assist, however he also has the motive of rescuing his sister. With the 24 hour timer running out fast the pair must act fast to save France. But there is more to the escapade than they know.
This film is filled with action, it’s fast paced, and is very well made. It’s in French, and I watched it with subtitles. As it’s from 2004 I don’t know if you’ll be able to catch it anywhere, but if you do find it I recommend it.
MTFBWY
Filed under: Random blogging
