Cinephiles and older audience members will be aware of The French Connection, a 1971 action piece that won the Best Picture Oscar of its year and was a career high point for Gene Hackman. But that film, in spite of its greatness, was largely fictionalised, whereas The Connection tells a much truer tale of the drug-trafficking story that inspired the American film, albeit this time from the French side.

Pierre Michel (Dujardin) is the police magistrate who plays an integral part in dismantling a large criminal organisation. He has his shortcomings – he’s prone to obsession and, in one of the great scenes of the movie, his work almost costs him his family – but his persistence in bringing down kingpin Gaeten Zampa (Lellouche) reminds you of Eliot Ness. There’s also a scene between the two main characters that brings back memories of De Niro and Pacino in Heat.

Shot on glorious 35mm, this film has a definite ’70s look about it. It also boasts a solid central performance from Dujardin, who confirms that he is not just a one-trick pony and is able to handle gripping drama as well as comedic roles like his Oscar-winning turn in The Artist. This is one of many great French films on the programme this semester, and should be pencilled into your diaries as a must-see.

This film is set in Nice, France in the 1970s, against the background of a mafia push for control over casinos in the region. Renée, who manages a family casino, puts up a strong resistance. The drama unfolds when her daughter Agnès comes back from Africa after a failed marriage. She is unsettled, needy and wants her share in the business. Agnès falls under the spell of her mother’s advisor and lawyer, Maurice. Maurice is ambitious, but also disillusioned as Renée is refusing to give him more responsibility in the management of the casino.

The scenario is based on a real court case examining the disappearance of a woman dealt with by French courts of justice in 2014. More than a thriller, it is also a story about mother/daughter relationships and is a reflection on how women tend to take on the world’s problems, while battling their own fluctuating states of mind. The men in the movie on the other hand seem to get on with their lives, without hesitation, nor remorse.

The landscapes of the French Riviera, where the movie was filmed, add to the pleasure. The film is directed by French screenwriter and film director André Téchiné, who has been directing movies for the past 50 years. Renée is masterfully played by Catherine Deneuve.