Who Did It? Question Lingers in Murder Drama ‘The Night of the 12th’

Director Dominik Moll reacts as he receives the Best Director Award for his film "La Nuit du 12" (The Night of the 12th) during the 48th Cesar Awards ceremony in Paris, France, February 24, 2023. (Reuters)
Director Dominik Moll reacts as he receives the Best Director Award for his film "La Nuit du 12" (The Night of the 12th) during the 48th Cesar Awards ceremony in Paris, France, February 24, 2023. (Reuters)
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Who Did It? Question Lingers in Murder Drama ‘The Night of the 12th’

Director Dominik Moll reacts as he receives the Best Director Award for his film "La Nuit du 12" (The Night of the 12th) during the 48th Cesar Awards ceremony in Paris, France, February 24, 2023. (Reuters)
Director Dominik Moll reacts as he receives the Best Director Award for his film "La Nuit du 12" (The Night of the 12th) during the 48th Cesar Awards ceremony in Paris, France, February 24, 2023. (Reuters)

Crime dramas usually end with the culprit being caught, but French film "La Nuit du 12" ("The Night of the 12th") looks instead at how an unsolved murder takes its toll on the police investigator trying to solve it.

Inspired by a real-life case described in Pauline Guéna's book "18.3 - une année à la PJ" ("18.3 - A Year With the Crime Squad"), the film begins with the brutal murder of young woman Clara. Police investigator Yohan Vivès takes on the case, and while he digs into her life and interrogates suspect after suspect, he gets no closer to finding Clara's killer.

"When you have a crime story, you have the crime and then ... the public wants the criminal at the end," director Dominik Moll told Reuters.

"The fact that it was unresolved, I felt that it allowed to ... put the focus on other things, be it on the police procedural work itself, or on the journey of the main investigator Yohan, and how he evolves and what that non-resolution does to him."

At the core of the movie, which last month won best film and best director for Moll at France's Cesar Awards, is the relationship between men and women.

"When we started to work on the screenplay ... we quickly felt that because it was a femicide and because it was the murder of a young woman that men's violence and the relationship of men and women would be a theme or a part of the film that we had to explore as well," he said.

"What we also wanted to question was the fact that the police are still ... mostly an all-male world and as the young policewoman says at the end (of the film), isn't it strange that almost all the violence is committed by men and then it's mostly men who investigate on it."

Set in the Alps, the film premiered at last year's Cannes Film Festival and has been praised by critics and audiences. "We also got feedback ... especially from women ... about how the film had given them strength and they thanked us, as guys tackling such a subject," Moll said.

"For me, that is more important than the Cesar Awards, but it doesn't mean that it's not nice (to have won awards)."

"The Night of the 12th" is released in UK cinemas on Friday.



Disney Launches Stage Musical 'Hercules' in London

FILE PHOTO: Buses cross Waterloo Bridge with the City of London financial district seen behind, in London, Britain, March 5, 2024. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Buses cross Waterloo Bridge with the City of London financial district seen behind, in London, Britain, March 5, 2024. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo
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Disney Launches Stage Musical 'Hercules' in London

FILE PHOTO: Buses cross Waterloo Bridge with the City of London financial district seen behind, in London, Britain, March 5, 2024. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Buses cross Waterloo Bridge with the City of London financial district seen behind, in London, Britain, March 5, 2024. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo

Disney takes London audiences back to Ancient Greece with its new musical "Hercules", bringing alive its 1997 animation on the West End stage.

Showing at composer Andrew Lloyd Webber's Theatre Royal Drury Lane, the show is inspired by the much-loved Disney film, itself based on the ancient myth.

It follows the titular character and son of Zeus who, upon losing his immortality as a baby due to the plotting Hades, god of the underworld, goes from zero to hero to stop his uncle from taking over.

“It's a myth that reflects contemporary culture and still honors the DNA of (the) animated movie," Robert Horn, who wrote the show's book with Kwame Kwei-Armah, told Reuters late on Tuesday at the musical's press night.

"It's its own new thing and yet fans of the movie will absolutely come and recognize it and love it.”

Central to the show are the five Muses, who sing their way through the story with energetic gospel-like tunes and plenty of costume changes, Reuters reported.

"I think I speak for all of us ... we have idolized these women. We have looked at these women and seen ourselves in times when we weren't really represented," actor Malinda Parris, who plays Calliope, said. "So being able to be that representation for other young girls ... who ... want to be The Muses ... it's living the dream."

The show differs from the movie in several ways, including Hercules' mentor, Phil, no longer being a satyr but a taverna owner.

“The main thing is that he still is there ... to love and support Hercules on his journey," actor Trevor Dion Nicholas said.

"It really is about building this bond between the two of them that kind of builds this paternal relationship that I think we were able to deepen more so than the animated film was."

"Hercules" is the latest Disney stage adaptation in London, showing in the same theatre where the hit show "Frozen" ran up until last year.

It features songs written by Oscar-winning composer Alan Menken and lyricist David Zippel from the animation, including "Go the Distance" and "Zero to Hero", as well as new tunes.