I agree 90% with Auberus' comments. However, Love , the one with a capital L, between Pierre and Louise is tested in an unexpected way. It's put in danger of showing to be unequal to the challenge: perhaps it can turn out to be love without a capital L. In sum: Goog plot, good script. Presents some dramatic, hard to face choices, some with ethical contents. Overall tempo of the film is restrained, shaded, as frequently seen in good European films. Very good acting by and large. Good photography. For those interested in architecture, the urban location is the dry and yet elegant group of apartment buildings designed by architect Perret, a reference in concrete buildings.

"38 témoins" aka "38 witnesses" is an adaptation from David Decoin's 2009 Novel entitles "Est-ce ainsi que les femmes meurent" (Do women die like this?). The Novel as the film was inspired by a true crime story that occurred in 1964 in Queens New York where a local woman was stabbed, sexually assaulted and murdered in public as her neighbors ignored her cries for help.The film from director Lucas Belvaux focuses on one couple played by Ivan Attal (Pierre Morvand)and Sophie Quinton as his wife Louise who is coming back from a trip in China and understands that a young woman was murdered in the street she lives in. At the time of the crime her husband Pierre was working late and so wasn't home when the crime occurred…so he says… But the police and a journalist (the beautiful Nicole Garcia) are investigating. One of the witnesses is having a different version than the 37 others. One of the witnesses can't look anymore into his wife's eyes. One of the witnesses has caught a terrible disease: Guilt. A disease for which the only cure is confession; a confession so hard to do it can only be delivered in a sleep, during a dream or a nightmare. And this witness is Pierre (Ivan Attal).What if you were confronted to an event that would spoil the Tranquility of your Life, the Routine of it? What if this event would command you to do something that' you've never done before? What if doing nothing is indeed doing something, turning into a placid monster? After confronting this moment of disgusting Truth about yourself, you may survive the confrontation, but the loss of Love might be the price to pay. You'll witness the Love fading in the eyes of your wife, of your kids of your friends but also in your own eyes…Superbly filmed and through a well-crafted narration "38 witnesses" emerges as a powerful movie about the darkest hour of our Soul. The movie works as a step by step psychological confrontation between the worst of you that can rise from cowardice, apathy and the search for redemption that follows. The price to pay is proportionate to the damage you've provoke. Be ready to empty your Life from the only thing you cannot live without: Love.

In the harbor city of Le Havre, France, a woman is stabbed during the night, just below the windows of her neighborhood. Pierre (Yvan Attal) has witnessed the murder, and heard the wails of the women crying for help. So have the neighbors, certainly. But at the end, nobody called the police. Nevertheless, sorrows are too heavy for Pierre, who feels the need to tell everything to his wife (Sophie Quinton), and to the police. During the investigation, it appears that 38 people witnessed the murdering, and none reacted...I was really appealed by the premises of this plot. That is also why I was really disappointed with the resulting film. Let me enumerate the main caveats I was annoyed with :scripts and acting. The dialogs often sound awkward, unnatural and sometimes I was wondering if I was looking at theater rather than cinema. The acting is not good (especially with the main roles), but I am not sure if actors or director have to be blamed.Le Havre. This city and its harbor is constantly in the picture, but the director does not really use it. Is it metaphor of dehumanization of modern urban life? Is it because the city center was rebuilt with bare concrete after 1945? The effect is wasted.the end. The scenario introduces many story elements which could have be explored and resolved into a powerful conclusion. Contrarily, the actual movie end is coming out of nowhere, unimpressive, and I felt, stupid.

I'm sorry, but this movie might be the worst I've ever seen. It's about a murder which happens in an Urban area, in Le Havre, but no one claims to have seen nor heard anything. Of course, they are lying. This could be quite an interesting subject, but in this movie it's not. It is never explained why the witnesses didn't do or say anything. In the meantime a lot of people are staring at each other, using big words without meaning and making a problem out of nothing. And we get shots of the port of Le Havre which doesn't seem to have any purpose either. Not to mention the acting is really not any good, in particular Sophie Quinton is terrible. It would be nice if they tried to find a psychological explanation for this, but they don't. Instead there are these typical cliché characters, the noisy reporter, the straight up policeman and the antihero. I really regret seeing this and would not recommend it to anyone.