November

Like reading a newspaper article when you're in the mood for a novel, Novembre tells you a lot of interesting things but doesn't hit you exactly where you want to be hit.

As an expat who's been in Paris for 30 years -- including November 13, 2015 when terrorists went on a rampage and assassinated 132 people in one night -- it's hard to look at this movie objectively.

I was happy the film stayed away from the cloying peripherals like romance and family drama with which other films (Revoir Paris / Paris Memories) water down the impact of the tragedy.

I was also relieved they moved very quickly past the event itself (the incredibly well-made Netflix documentary November 13: Attack on Paris did such a good job that nothing will every come close to capturing the horror of that night).

Instead, Novembre is about the massive investigation and manhunt for the perpetrators of the attacks. As such, it does a good job recounting how the information was gathered and acted upon, and comes across as decent thriller / detective flick.

Still, I was hoping for more of a sense of gravitas than the film delivered. It felt like a good thriller rather than a serious exploration of one of the most harrowing moments in recent Paris history. But fortunately, the strong cast (Jean Dujardin, of course, but especially the always impressive Anaïs Demoustier and Sofian Khammes who is really making a name for himself) delivers and the film is a respectable analysis of the post-November 13 response.