The Crimson Rivers (DVD, 2001)

Jean Reno reprises his role as a laconic tough cop in Mathieu Kassovitz's disturbing thriller, THE CRIMSON RIVERS. Kassovitz, who rose to fame with his compelling racial drama HATE, brings his signature flare for character development and subtle direction to this unlikely alpine murder mystery. A horrifically mutilated corpse found in a remote mountain village signifies a serious enough crime to call in Parisian detective Pierre Niemans (Jean Reno). Meanwhile, less than 200 miles away, the young upstart detective Kerkerian (HATE's Vincent Cassel) investigates a similarly bizarre crime, the defacement of a young girl's grave. As the two intrepid detectives pursue their cases--Niemans examining bizarre circumstances at a local university and Kerkerian interviewing the dead girl's recalcitrant mother (now a cloistered nun)--the two investigations pitch violently towards each other, forcing the detectives to join forces as they recognize the horrifying implications that may link the seemingly isolated crimes. The precarious mountain locale acts as a fittingly terse setting for Kassovitz's tight direction (and surprise ending) as well as Reno and Cassel's powerfully quirky performances, all of which make THE CRIMSON RIVERS a breathtaking and gut-wrenching instant genre classic.