Cinema: L'Humanite

In the first shot we see a long hillcrest, and, in the oldest of art-movie cliches, a man has to trudge from one edge of the wide screen to the other. Don't ask us why this minimalist drama won prizes last year at Cannes or why it is getting raves in its U.S. release. Set in the bleak French north, the film folds a whodunit plot into the tale of a quiet police officer (Emmanuel Schotte), his loutish pal (Philippe Tullier) and the slutty gal of their dreams (Severine Caneele). In 2 1/2 hours you will find a lot of staring and some huffing sex, and a twist to the murder mystery. If you go. If you stay.

--By Richard Corliss

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MANOJ, a police officer stationed in Mumbai, on why he and other police don't criticize their leaders for failing to meet promises to improve dire working conditions after last fall's deadly attacks on the Taj hotel
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MANOJ, a police officer stationed in Mumbai, on why he and other police don't criticize their leaders for failing to meet promises to improve dire working conditions after last fall's deadly attacks on the Taj hotel

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