In this French gangster drama, a young hoodlum, new to his famed father's dubious profession, successfully completes his first hit but then finds himself trapped in between a brutal vendetta between rival gangs. To save himself, Francois joins forces with a motley gang of crooks, led by the emotionally unstable Rufin, and tries to wait the situation out while amusing himself with the affections of a nightclub chanteuse. Meanwhile, his colleagues are being killed off, one by one, leaving him to wonder whether or not his father will use his clout to save him.
Acting
Giovaninetti's baby-faced killer desperately clinging to innocence.
Direction
Durringer's claustrophobic framing traps you with doomed men.
Score
Jazz-noir soundtrack that lies about hope.
Director
Xavier Durringer
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The title translates to 'I'll Go to Paradise Because Hell Is Here'—a direct inversion of a famous French saying, signaling the film's pessimistic reversal of moral order.
Released during a resurgence of French polar films, it deliberately rejected the romanticized gangster myth of Jean-Pierre Melville for something grimier and more Oedipal.
No ratings yet
Sign in to join the discussion — comments are spoiler-gated to your watch progress.
Discussion starters
FR
