The Lost Son

1999
6.4| 1h42m| en
Details

Xavier Lombard is a world-weary private eye in London, in exile from his native Paris; his best friend is Nathalie, a high-class call girl. He gets a call from an old friend from the Paris police department, now a businessman whose brother-in-law is missing. The missing man's parents hire Xavier over their daughter's objections, and quickly he finds himself in the realm of children's sexual slavery.

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Reviews

Evengyny Thanks for the memories!
BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See
Teddie Blake The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.
Payno I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.
ikanboy Daniel Auteuil steps out from his native French and is immediately swimming against the tide in this film noire set inexplicably in England but with mostly foreign actors. I like Auteuil, when he's doing French movies but here his accent and rather high voice just sets the mood off. I guessed in the second half hour who the bad guy was, so it was just a question of when our hero would, but not before traveling to Mexico to watch Bruce Greenwood strangle a German accent in a performance I am sure he regrets. With French writers and a British Director what could go right? It's not a bad movie just a movie with the wrong actors in the wrong setting.
thinker1691 This is a film called " The Lost Son. " It was interestingly directed by Chris Menges, and written by a trio of writer led by Eric Leclere. Although this story begins in London, it travels to several world locations. The hero of the movie is Xavier Lombard, (Daniel Auteuil) a soccer playing, chain smoking, Parisian Private Investigator, now living in London, England. He is visited by an old police friend named Carlos (Ciaran Hinds) who invites him to take an 'open and shut, missing person's case' primarily for the money. Lombard begins his search for the missing son, only to discover it involves a child prostitution ring, which put's his life in grave danger and reminds him of an unsolved case which took the life of his wife and daughter. The movie is a dark and sober reminder of the hidden world we live in and despite the exotic locations, serves to illustrate the unsavory elements which most of the world continues to ignore. Among the cast is Nastassja Kinski and Bruce Greenwood who is a surprising and interesting heavy. The movie is slow to develop, but with cinematic patience, one is treated to real gem and eventually a Classic for Greenwood. ****
Carl S Lau Daniel Auteuil is the lead actor of this film and successfully carries the entire movie. Unfortunately, Nastassja Kinski, billed second, does not receive much screen time and probably could have mailed in her performance because it wasn't very demanding of her considerable skills. As another reviewer wrote: a total waste of her talent. I would suspect that she got the billing to help sell the movie and that was the only reason that I watched it. There is a very secondary role played by Billie Whitelaw, a British actress from the 1960's that I remembered from the Terry-Thomas movie, Make Mine Mink. The movie is gripping, if one buys into it, and the tension is palpable and never lets one go.
David McDaid Daniel Auteil gives a commanding performance as a French private investigator working in London following self imposed exile from Paris following the murder of his family. Making ends meet through a combination of blackmail of those involved in extra marital affairs and fees from their partners, Auteil is a weary character with little joy or passion in life, with the exception of football, and his friendship with a fellow French exile, Nathalie a high class prostitute. However when he takes on a case looking for the missing son of a wealthy industrialist, he finds himself embroiled in the sordid world of the child sex trade. A gripping story with good performances all round, especially from Auteil, this film tackles a taboo subject in a sensitive yet realistic fashion. Auteil's unorthodox methods to secure information should fill an audience with revulsion, yet in this situation, they seem entirely appropriate. Excellent if at times uncomfortable viewing.