Russia has detonated a nuclear warhead over the Black Sea to signal its desire for revenge after an assassination attempt on the Russian president. Germany and Italy are urging restraint. The American president steps back from the standoff entirely and suggests removing Ukraine’s leader to appease Moscow.
A new thriller, which has brought nuclear anxiety to the red carpets of the Venice film festival this week, explores what might happen next. In Jupiter, which premiered on the Lido on Friday, the task of confronting the Kremlin and engaging in the stressful psychological games of nuclear deterrence falls to the fictional French president Paul Archambault (played by the imposing French actor Denis Ménochet), who is supported in his mission by the British prime minister.
View image in fullscreen
Denis Ménochet plays a fictional French president in Alexandre Smia’s film. Photograph: PR
This scenario is far from unrealistic, according to French filmmaker Alexandre Smia, speaking on the eve of his film’s premiere.
“Even if the US disengagement from NATO is not official, we have reason to doubt that the US would offer its nuclear umbrella if a European city were attacked today,” said Smia, who has previously directed episodes of the French spy TV series Le Bureau des Légendes.
“And considering that France is the only country in Europe that is both a member of the European community, the UN Security Council, and NATO, it naturally becomes the country where the responsibility for making decisions lies.”
He added: “Filling the void when faced with a threat is no longer even a choice; it becomes almost an obligation.”
Scheduled for release in France in November, Jupiter will focus attention but also divide opinion ahead of presidential elections next April. After the release of a trailer, some voices on the far right have tried to dismiss the production as a “propaganda film” intended to boost support for a centrist candidate against Marine Le Pen’s National Rally.
The film’s title, however, is far from a straightforward reference to outgoing president Emmanuel Macron, who famously called for a “Jupiterian” head of state. François Mitterrand was also nicknamed Jupiter by the national press, and the command room inside the bunker beneath the Élysée Palace, where most of the film’s action takes place, was named after the Roman king of the gods under Valéry Giscard d’Estaing.
In the film, the French head of state, Archambault, enters the nuclear standoff still reeling from the loss of his daughter – a biographical detail that evokes Charles de Gaulle (who lost a daughter to pneumonia) and Jacques Chirac (who outlived his daughter Laurence).
skip past newsletter promotion
Free newsletter | Weekly
Sign up to The Guide
Get our weekly pop culture email, free in your inbox every Friday
Enter your email Sign up
after newsletter promotion
EU’s ability to defend against invasion remains in doubt, finds official report
Read more
The socialist ex-president Hollande advised the makers of the film during their research, and Smia said he had chosen Ménochet for the role precisely because he did not physically resemble any previous president.
Yet while Jupiter is clear about the need for French leadership, the film does not necessarily show that France is up to the task. To be taken seriously by the film’s Putin-equivalent character, the French president is forced to engage with Richard Nixon’s madman theory: projecting an appearance of irrationality to make otherwise non-credible threats seem believable.
It’s a move that risks angering the French public and alienating the president’s political allies in Europe and within his own cabinet. “Would any European leader be able to play the madman?” asked Smia. “The theory of the madman is indeed dangerous, and I don’t think that any European leader would do that.”
Lead actor Ménochet, who previously played a French president in Guy Maddin’s oddball G7 comedy Rumours, is best known to cinema lovers as a French farmer who crumblesDuring the interrogation by Christoph Waltz’s Nazi general in the opening scene of Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds…
[View image in fullscreen: Ménochet was cast in the film partly because he doesn’t resemble previous French presidents. Photograph: PR]
In Jupiter, his character must show extreme mental toughness, especially when the film’s Russian president, Chernov, insults him personally by suggesting that Archambault’s daughter died because of Western “decadence.”
At screenings on the Lido, French journalists left the auditorium fiercely debating whether the film promotes a more aggressive French stance or warns against it.
The deliberate ambiguity in Smia’s film places it alongside several recent French movies that take place in confined settings, focus on sharp dialogue rather than plot twists, and leave audiences weighing moral questions—such as courtroom dramas Anatomy of a Fall by Justine Triet and The Goldman Case by Cédric Kahn, who also has a supporting role in Jupiter.
“This trend is very important, and I hope it becomes a movement,” said Smia. “In a time of oversimplification, films about moral ambiguity and the struggle to find your own path are extremely important.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of FAQs about French thrillers covering everything from basic definitions to where to start and what makes them unique
Beginner Questions
1 What exactly is a French thriller
Its a suspenseful film or TV series made in France that focuses on crime mystery or psychological tension They often focus more on character depth and moral ambiguity than just nonstop action
2 How is a French thriller different from a Hollywood thriller
Hollywood thrillers usually have a faster pace bigger explosions and a clear good guy vs bad guy story French thrillers are often slower more realistic and focus on the grey areas of morality They are more interested in why a crime happens than the action of the crime itself
3 Are French thrillers subtitled or dubbed
That depends on where you watch them On streaming services like Netflix or Amazon you can usually choose either original French audio with subtitles or an English dub Most fans recommend watching with subtitles to hear the actors original performances
4 I dont speak French Will I still enjoy them
Absolutely The visual storytelling atmosphere and acting are so strong that the language barrier disappears quickly Once you get used to reading subtitles youll forget youre even reading
5 Can you recommend a good easytofind French thriller for a beginner
Yes Start with Lupin on Netflix or the movie Tell No One If you want something darker La Haine is a classic but for pure thriller The Crimson Rivers is a great police procedural
Intermediate Advanced Questions
6 What are the key themes or tropes common in French thrillers
Common themes include the failure of institutions the impact of past trauma class conflict and the polar style Youll often see morally corrupt cops unreliable narrators and endings that dont tie up neatly in a bow
7 Who are the most famous directors of French thrillers
You should know
