Canadian Film Forum

achim_dana · Trimis: 20/02/2012 23:05 Titlul subiectului: BON COP, BAD COP

BON COP, BAD COP is a 117 minutes action movie sprinkled with scenes of humor (tragic and comic, hard to watch often). The film director Erik Canuel, decided in 2006 that all these differences fit together. So, if one wants to find action, crime and comedy in a single movie, BON COP, BAD COP would be a good choice. The story of the film actually starts with a crime which happened at the border of Quebec with Ontario. These is the place where Bon Cop - Martin Ward and Bad Cop - David Bouchard met together. These two cops were very different. The only thing which connects them is the fact that they are both cops.

The film won at the Gala of 27th Genie Awards two categories out of ten where it has been nominated: „Best motion picture” and „Overall sound”. These two trophies demonstrate that BON COP, BAD COP has a high sound level and great image shots. Another important award was the „billet d'or” (golden ticket) at Quebec's 2007 Jutra Awards. In 2007 at Canadian Comedy Awards, BON COP, BAD COP got the award for the category of “Pretty Funny Film Writing”. (IMDB, Awards)

Being a bilingual film, BON COP, BAD COP was meant to parallel these two societies from Canada: the English speaking one and the French speaking society. Martin Ward and David Bouchard are the best examples of extreme characters from each community. These portraits are created more for the non-Canadians; they are meant to show how do others see the french speaking Canadians and the English speaking Canadians (but in an over exaggerated scenario – I think/hope). The main theme of the BON COP, BAD COP is about how important the hokey is for some Canadians and also about multiculturalism. Except these themes, the entire movie is focused on the capture of the Tattoo killer, which has been a real challenge for the protagonists. In terms of social importance, I believe that this film was not made so much for the action, but more for the differences between the French Canadians and the English Canadians. Their dialogues and their way of managing some issues (in French style and in English style) were much more important than the way they were actually acting.

Canada is one of the most important places where multiculturalism is very evident. BON COP, BAD COP represents Canada as it is, with the jokes made by French communities about the English communities from Canada and vice versa. Of course that everything is being emphasized in order to produce laughter: “David Bouchard: [surprised] You speak French? Martin Ward: No, not really. I had a small gadget installed in my brain and I see subtitles under people when they speak.“ (IMDB, Quotes, par 4th)

The French people from Canada don't have so many rules, while the English communities use to have more established principles. They could be compared with the French people from France and the English people from Great Britan. After these principles are acting the two cops: Bouchard wants to do everything by his rules while Ward is very conscious that they can ruin their investigation if they don't follow some rules. Bouchard uses more his muscles while Ward uses more his brain. Together they eventually manage to get something good out of their investigation.

The title of the movie BON COP, BAD COP is also a mixture of French and English. The irony is that the Bon Cop is an English speaker and the Bad Cop is a French speaker. The title construction gives the viewers the opportunity to see that there is comedy and irony in this movie. A pamphlet attitude is visible from the very beginning.

The Romanian version of the DVD made by Empire Film split the film in 12 chapters. BON COP, BAD COP opens with a 4 minute introduction in a series of shots using mostly wide angle lens (disproportion, distortion of images). In the same sequence are filmed many close-ups, followed by some extreme close-ups and at the end we are facing some detail shots. It follows a “plan contra plan”, which is a specific shot for creating a parallel between the positive character versus the negative one. In this sequence we see for the first time the Tattoo Killer, but hidden under a mask. He has together with him, his first victim. When the filming is made from the Tattoo Killer's perspective we have a high angle shot, and when the camera moves to the victim's perspective we have a low angle shot. Next, there are sudden camera movements oscillating between high angle shots and low angle shots, finished with many detail shots interfered by some extreme close-ups. There is also used a reverse shot with the “foreground en amorce”, specific for the years 1960-1980 (min. 1'50''). At min. 2'23'' the director offers the viewers a subjective perspective about the Tattoo Killer, as we first see the victim's reaction about him, while he takes off his mask (only the victim sees the killer without mask, the viewers don't see him without it). For about 4 minutes (the length of the introduction) Canuel was playing only with extreme close-ups and detail shots often using dolly shots, so that the viewer has the feeling that he/she is there. This was a good choice for inducing the suspense and even fear.

When the actual narrative line of the movie starts, the Bon Cop's family was presented (him, his son and his sister) and then the story moves to the Bad Cop's family (him, his ex-wife – they still live together and their daughter). A plan reverse was used in order to present both families. After this sequences, Bouchard receives a call and the entire way until the crime place is filmed using time lapse (from min. 10'22'' to 10'34'' – for about 12 seconds, which is pretty much for watching images moving extremely fast).

The collaboration between these two cops starts with a lot of skepticism from both sides. When intense scenes are shot, hard rock music plays on the background and intensifies the sensation. The cops start the investigation in order to catch the Tattoo Killer and the first place they investigate is a bar frequented by the supposed killer. The scene was shot placing the center of interest using the golden section with tele photo lens at min. 28'39''-40''.

As the action progresses into another place (outside the bar), a sequence of uncomfortable hilarious jump cuts of viewpoints is disturbed by the loud music from the background (which comes from the bar – we must guess this) 28'59''-29'13'' (for 14 seconds). This scene was shot only for amusement.

Moving forward to Gabrielle’s ballet spectacle (Bouchard's daughter), the entrance of the two cops inside the spectacle room was filmed with a parallel movement, followed by a counter movement. A wipe cut places the viewers at the after ballet show dinner, in Bouchard's home. This dinner is being accompanied by a family discussion filmed in a circle shot.

Going on, the movie takes the viewers into the Tattoo Killer's home using mostly long and long medium shots then followed by medium close-ups passing directly to detail shots (when the action starts to intensify). After a series of events during their research in the house, they both get high because of a marijuana hidden factory, which burst into fire because of some mistakes made by Bouchard. Their investigation stumps again in some of the mistakes made by Bouchard. Many comic scenes are shot here, even if at the beginning this sequence was meant to be a serious one.

Now, the investigation brings the viewers in another temporal line. The two cops are invited unwillingly and involuntary in a TV show where we mostly have medium close-ups. The tattoo killer gives them a call for the first time, using a robot voice. Then, is used again a lot of music in the background because Canuel wanted to intensify this clipă of panic after the call of the killer.

Analyzing more the case, the cops realize that on each of his victim's body the tattoo killer has made a tattoo which contained clues that could lead to his next victims. They realized that his last victim was Mr. Buttman, an important owner of one of the best Canadian hokey teams. He wanted to sell this team to USA, this is why he was on the list of the tattoo killer. Bouchard gets even more involved in the case because the killer knew how to make this happen. He kidnapped Bouchard's daughter. They made a deal and Bouchard had to bring him Buttman in order to release Gabrielle.

In the last sequences of the movie, Canuel uses again a change of low angle shots with high angle shots, moving the camera from Bouchard to the tattoo killer, using mostly a crab dolly movement. They manage to save Gabrielle and the following step was to follow the tattoo killer who run away outside with Buttman. At 1h45'47''- 49'' there is a slow motion shot followed by another one at 1h46'06''-14''. These shots stretched the time and made it longer than it was – was created suspense.

In the end, the tattoo killer is blown in the air by the bomb he wanted to use in order to kill Gabrielle. Now the tattoo killer is filmed for the first time with a high angle shot, showing him humiliated, his face is shot with a close-up so that the viewers can see the details from his bloody face. This was the confirmation that the two cops won. They proved to be better than the tattoo killer, even if they were so different. The movie ends with some long shots showing the back of the cops leaving satisfied. The generic appears, but after a few seconds it's interrupted by Buttman's discourse where he announces the entire Canada that he is not selling the hokey team anymore. The entire scene was filmed in a medium close-up with a fixed camera.

In conclusion, Canuel used for BON COP, BAD COP very diferite film techniques. He counterbalanced them in the best possible way so that he was able to induce the viewers what he planed. He managed to combine the sound with the image, in such a way that he created a great effect for each important sequence and gave a great dynamism to the entire movie.

Bibliography:

BON COP, BAD COP [La graniţa dintre jurisdicţii]. Dir. Canuel, Erik 2006. DVD Empire Film 2008.

IMDB. BON COP, BAD COP. Online: [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0479647/], Last visited: [20th of February 2012]
_________________
"Lives, like money, are spent. What are you buying with yours?" Roy H. Williams

achim_dana · Trimis: 23/02/2012 20:55 Titlul subiectului:

My favorite sequence, from a technical perspective, is the one where Bouchard starts the chasing of the Tattoo Killer provoked and supported by his daughter. Gabrielle is the one who makes him more ambitious to catch the killer.

This puternice sequence starts at 1h45'40''. It begins with a very loud music on the background, so that the viewer could be prepared for something agonizing. I think that the action is shot from at least two different cars. From the Tattoo Killer's car, when Bouchard has appeared in medium long shots, and from another car when the focus was on the Tattoo Killer, with Bouchard on the background. In these plans they were filmed in long shots.

In a temporal perspective, Canuel accelerates the time and uses undercranking to increase the speed. Moving on after all this speedy scenes, Canuel decides to shot a slow motion scene at 1h45'47''-49'', followed by another one at 1h46'06''-14'' (this second slow motion shot is much longer than the first one, so that the impatience will grow even more). Mostly, there were used medium long shots interfered with some medium close-ups. It is also visible the usage of a hand-held-camera for these scenes, because the images are very unsteady.

Tele photo lens are used in all this sequence. In terms of composition, the center of interest is either placed in the golden section (ex: 1h45'48'') or is used the rule of the moving object (ex: 1h46'00'').

In the beginning, the Tattoo Killer is shot from a low angle and Bouchard from a high angle. All these angle shots are used until Ward arrives to help Bouchard. From now on, the low angle shots are used for Bouchard and the high angle shots are used to film the Tattoo Killer. This change of angle shots is a change of power also. The Tattoo Killer is now in a position of humiliation. In the end the power is on Bouchard's hands.
_________________
"Lives, like money, are spent. What are you buying with yours?" Roy H. Williams