District B13
Encyclopedia
District 13 is a 2004 French action film
directed
by Pierre Morel
and written and produced by Luc Besson
. It has also been released as District B13 and Barrio 13 (Australia DVD release) It has also been known as B13 on French posters used to advertise the film.
The film is notable for its depiction of parkour
in a number of stunt sequences that were completed without the use of wires or computer generated effects
. Because of this, some critics have drawn comparisons to the popular Thai
film [made by Luc Besson also]Ong-Bak
.
David Belle
, a founder of parkour, appears in the film as one of its protagonists, Leïto.
, drugs and organized crime
have overrun the poorer suburbs of Paris
and especially a Banlieue
commonly referred to as B13 (Banlieue 13 – which translates to District 13 or Borough 13 in English) a ghetto
with a population of some two million. Unable to control B13 the authorities construct a high wall topped by barbed wire
around the entire area forcing the inhabitants within to survive without education, proper utilities or police protection behind the containment wall. Police checkpoints stop anybody going in or out.
Three years later an almost feudal system has developed amongst the street gangs of B13. The area is now flooded with hard drugs such as heroin and completely controlled by gangster
s. Certain blocks are ruled over by various individuals and one high rise
apartment block is looked after by an athletic and street-wise man known as Leïto (David Belle). Leïto hates drugs and injustice and wages a one-man war against a neighboring gang lord named Taha Bemamud (Bibi Naceri) to keep his own building and people safe and free of drugs. Leïto captures 20 kg of heroin from Taha, worth over a million euro, which incites Taha to send his thugs to recover the merchandise, led by the towering K2 (Tony D'Amario). Leïto destroys the cocaine by using bleach
and uses parkour
to evade Taha's thugs through the building and across rooftops.
Taha kidnaps Leïto's younger sister Lola (Dany Verissimo
) to use against him, but Leïto manages to invade Taha's base, rescue his sister, and kidnap Taha in turn. Leïto takes Taha to the police office at the edge of the district perimeter, but the police are in the process of abandoning their position on orders from the French Ministry, and are also threefold outnumbered by Taha's gang. The police release Taha and allow him to take Lola with him to avoid a confrontation. In addition, they put Leïto in a cell also to contain the situation, but Leïto kills the police chief in the process for handing over Lola.
Six months later, outside of B13 in the affluent areas of Paris, an undercover
police captain
named Damien Tomaso (Cyril Raffaelli
) infiltrates an underground casino and attempts to arrest the gangster who owns it. His extraction
procedure fails, however, forcing him to fight his way through an army of thugs to escape the casino. Upon the mission's completion, Damien immediately receives another assignment from his chief and also the Defence Secretary of France
, Mr Krüger. He is told that Taha has stolen an experimental neutron bomb
that is set to detonate in 24 hours. His mission is to convince Leïto, imprisoned for months, to lead him to Taha's base so that he can disarm the bomb.
Damien attempts to pass himself off as a fellow prisoner and helps Leïto escape
to B13, but Leïto sees through Damien's act and abandons him. After fighting off some of the local thugs, Damien locates Leïto and admits the truth. They team up to disarm the bomb and rescue Lola. The pair surrenders to Taha in order to gain access to his base. There, they discover that Taha has rigged the warhead to a missile launcher, pointed towards the center of Paris and is prepared to blackmail the government with it. Taha demands a high ransom, which is refused by Damien's government contact. The pair escape, and while Taha's thugs pursue them, he discovers that the government has emptied all of his offshore accounts
in the Bahamas and elsewhere. One of Taha's men asks how Taha will pay them. Frustrated Taha tries to shoot the member who asked him that only noticing his gun to be unloaded. Taha offers money from a safe he possesses. Knowing that with Tahas accounts emptied and unable to have any reason to work for him the thugs shoot Taha. This leaves K2, a more sympathetic character, in charge and K2 has a moment of reconciliation with Leïto, suggesting that peace is possible in the future within B13.
Leïto and Damien fight their way to the tower building holding Lola and the bomb. They are confronted by their final obstacle: Yeti, a substantial henchman left by Taha to block their access to the bomb. Having defeated Yeti, Damien calls his contact to receive the deactivation code, 9293709B13. Leïto recognizes the code as a reference to the bomb's location (92 and 93 are the two area codes of the departements that make up District 13), the day's date (7 September), and the district, B13. Leïto deduces that the government has set them up and the code will actually detonate the bomb instead of deactivating it. He fights Damien to prevent him from entering the code. The timer runs out and the bomb does not detonate, proving Leïto's theory.
The pair return to the government building with the bomb and force Mr Krüger to admit that he had planned to blow up B13 as a means to get rid of it. The confession has been filmed and is immediately broadcast by pirate television
transmission across all channels. The pair's actions cause a major scandal that sparks public support for B13. Soon the rest of the government promises to tear down the containment wall and bring back schools and police to B13. Leïto and Damien depart as friends, and Lola kisses Damien to encourage him to visit B13 in the future.
, based on 108 reviews.
, Serbia
, and continued until October 2008. David Belle
and Cyril Raffaelli
both reprised their original roles of Leito and Damien, respectively. The film was directed by Patrick Alessandrin with Luc Besson
again producing and writing the screenplay. The title for the sequel was officially changed to District 13: Ultimatum in the post-production stages. It was released in France on February 18, 2009, and the United Kingdom on October 2, 2009.
in 2010 by EuropaCorp
.
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by Pierre Morel
Pierre Morel
-Movie career:After spending his formative years in cinema school, Pierre Morel debuted in 2000 as camera operator with the first Richard Berry's film L'Art de la séduction....
and written and produced by Luc Besson
Luc Besson
Luc Besson is a French film director, writer, and producer. He is the creator of EuropaCorp film company. He has been involved with over 50 films, spanning 26 years, as writer, director, and/or producer.-Early life:...
. It has also been released as District B13 and Barrio 13 (Australia DVD release) It has also been known as B13 on French posters used to advertise the film.
The film is notable for its depiction of parkour
Parkour
Parkour is a method of movement focused on moving around obstacles with speed and efficiency. Originally developed in France, the main purpose of the discipline is to teach participants how to move through their environment by vaulting, rolling, running, climbing and jumping...
in a number of stunt sequences that were completed without the use of wires or computer generated effects
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
. Because of this, some critics have drawn comparisons to the popular Thai
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
film [made by Luc Besson also]Ong-Bak
Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior
Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior , also known in the United States as Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior is a 2003 Thai action film. It was directed by Prachya Pinkaew, featured stunt choreography by Panna Rittikrai and starred Tony Jaa. Ong-Bak proved to be Jaa's breakout film, with the actor hailed...
.
David Belle
David Belle
David Belle is well known as the founder of Parkour. Belle founded Parkour based on his training and the teachings from his father Raymond Belle. The discipline has since spread around the world and now has adherents in virtually every country...
, a founder of parkour, appears in the film as one of its protagonists, Leïto.
Plot
In 2010 social problems such as violenceViolent crime
A violent crime or crime of violence is a crime in which the offender uses or threatens to use violent force upon the victim. This entails both crimes in which the violent act is the objective, such as murder, as well as crimes in which violence is the means to an end, such as robbery. Violent...
, drugs and organized crime
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
have overrun the poorer suburbs of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and especially a Banlieue
Banlieue
In francophone areas, banlieues are the "outskirts" of a city: the zone around a city that is under the city's rule.Banlieues are translated as "suburbs", as these are also residential areas on the outer edge of a city, but the connotations of the term "banlieue" in France can be different from...
commonly referred to as B13 (Banlieue 13 – which translates to District 13 or Borough 13 in English) a ghetto
Ghetto
A ghetto is a section of a city predominantly occupied by a group who live there, especially because of social, economic, or legal issues.The term was originally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews were compelled to live. The term now refers to an overcrowded urban area often associated...
with a population of some two million. Unable to control B13 the authorities construct a high wall topped by barbed wire
Barbed wire
Barbed wire, also known as barb wire , is a type of fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strand. It is used to construct inexpensive fences and is used atop walls surrounding secured property...
around the entire area forcing the inhabitants within to survive without education, proper utilities or police protection behind the containment wall. Police checkpoints stop anybody going in or out.
Three years later an almost feudal system has developed amongst the street gangs of B13. The area is now flooded with hard drugs such as heroin and completely controlled by gangster
Gangster
A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Some gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from mob and the suffix -ster....
s. Certain blocks are ruled over by various individuals and one high rise
High Rise
High Rise is a 1975 novel by J. G. Ballard. It takes place in an ultra-modern, luxury high-rise building.-Plot summary:The building seems to give its well-established tenants all the conveniences and commodities that modern life has to offer: swimming pools, its own school, a supermarket,...
apartment block is looked after by an athletic and street-wise man known as Leïto (David Belle). Leïto hates drugs and injustice and wages a one-man war against a neighboring gang lord named Taha Bemamud (Bibi Naceri) to keep his own building and people safe and free of drugs. Leïto captures 20 kg of heroin from Taha, worth over a million euro, which incites Taha to send his thugs to recover the merchandise, led by the towering K2 (Tony D'Amario). Leïto destroys the cocaine by using bleach
Bleach
Bleach refers to a number of chemicals that remove color, whiten, or disinfect, often via oxidation. Common chemical bleaches include household chlorine bleach , lye, oxygen bleach , and bleaching powder...
and uses parkour
Parkour
Parkour is a method of movement focused on moving around obstacles with speed and efficiency. Originally developed in France, the main purpose of the discipline is to teach participants how to move through their environment by vaulting, rolling, running, climbing and jumping...
to evade Taha's thugs through the building and across rooftops.
Taha kidnaps Leïto's younger sister Lola (Dany Verissimo
Dany Verissimo
Dany Verissimo is an actress and model.The child of a Malagasy mother and a French father, a financial director at Air France, Verissimo spent her childhood in France, the United States, and Nigeria. She began performing in pornography at 18 and a half years old, performing in films by John B...
) to use against him, but Leïto manages to invade Taha's base, rescue his sister, and kidnap Taha in turn. Leïto takes Taha to the police office at the edge of the district perimeter, but the police are in the process of abandoning their position on orders from the French Ministry, and are also threefold outnumbered by Taha's gang. The police release Taha and allow him to take Lola with him to avoid a confrontation. In addition, they put Leïto in a cell also to contain the situation, but Leïto kills the police chief in the process for handing over Lola.
Six months later, outside of B13 in the affluent areas of Paris, an undercover
Undercover
Being undercover is disguising one's own identity or using an assumed identity for the purposes of gaining the trust of an individual or organization to learn secret information or to gain the trust of targeted individuals in order to gain information or evidence...
police captain
Police captain
- France :France uses the rank of capitaine for management duties in both uniformed and plain-clothed policing. The rank comes senior to lieutenant and junior to commandant....
named Damien Tomaso (Cyril Raffaelli
Cyril Raffaelli
Cyril Raffaelli is a French traceur, martial artist and stuntman.-Biography:Utilizing shotokan karate and wushu, Raffaelli has been a regular in films with Luc Besson and David Belle, the latter being a friend of his.-Filmography:...
) infiltrates an underground casino and attempts to arrest the gangster who owns it. His extraction
Extraction (military)
Extraction , in tactical combat and special operations use, is the process of removing constituents from a targeted site when it is considered imperative that they be immediately relocated out of a hostile environment and taken to a secured area under friendly control...
procedure fails, however, forcing him to fight his way through an army of thugs to escape the casino. Upon the mission's completion, Damien immediately receives another assignment from his chief and also the Defence Secretary of France
Minister of Defence (France)
The Minister of Defense and Veterans Affairs is the French government cabinet member charged with running the military of France....
, Mr Krüger. He is told that Taha has stolen an experimental neutron bomb
Neutron bomb
A neutron bomb or enhanced radiation weapon or weapon of reinforced radiation is a type of thermonuclear weapon designed specifically to release a large portion of its energy as energetic neutron radiation rather than explosive energy...
that is set to detonate in 24 hours. His mission is to convince Leïto, imprisoned for months, to lead him to Taha's base so that he can disarm the bomb.
Damien attempts to pass himself off as a fellow prisoner and helps Leïto escape
Prison escape
A prison escape or prison break is the act of an inmate leaving prison through unofficial or illegal ways. Normally, when this occurs, an effort is made on the part of authorities to recapture them and return them to their original detainers...
to B13, but Leïto sees through Damien's act and abandons him. After fighting off some of the local thugs, Damien locates Leïto and admits the truth. They team up to disarm the bomb and rescue Lola. The pair surrenders to Taha in order to gain access to his base. There, they discover that Taha has rigged the warhead to a missile launcher, pointed towards the center of Paris and is prepared to blackmail the government with it. Taha demands a high ransom, which is refused by Damien's government contact. The pair escape, and while Taha's thugs pursue them, he discovers that the government has emptied all of his offshore accounts
Offshore bank
An offshore bank is a bank located outside the country of residence of the depositor, typically in a low tax jurisdiction that provides financial and legal advantages. These advantages typically include:...
in the Bahamas and elsewhere. One of Taha's men asks how Taha will pay them. Frustrated Taha tries to shoot the member who asked him that only noticing his gun to be unloaded. Taha offers money from a safe he possesses. Knowing that with Tahas accounts emptied and unable to have any reason to work for him the thugs shoot Taha. This leaves K2, a more sympathetic character, in charge and K2 has a moment of reconciliation with Leïto, suggesting that peace is possible in the future within B13.
Leïto and Damien fight their way to the tower building holding Lola and the bomb. They are confronted by their final obstacle: Yeti, a substantial henchman left by Taha to block their access to the bomb. Having defeated Yeti, Damien calls his contact to receive the deactivation code, 9293709B13. Leïto recognizes the code as a reference to the bomb's location (92 and 93 are the two area codes of the departements that make up District 13), the day's date (7 September), and the district, B13. Leïto deduces that the government has set them up and the code will actually detonate the bomb instead of deactivating it. He fights Damien to prevent him from entering the code. The timer runs out and the bomb does not detonate, proving Leïto's theory.
The pair return to the government building with the bomb and force Mr Krüger to admit that he had planned to blow up B13 as a means to get rid of it. The confession has been filmed and is immediately broadcast by pirate television
Pirate television
A pirate television station is a broadcast television station that operates without a broadcast license. Like its counterpart pirate radio, the term pirate TV lacks a specific universal interpretation...
transmission across all channels. The pair's actions cause a major scandal that sparks public support for B13. Soon the rest of the government promises to tear down the containment wall and bring back schools and police to B13. Leïto and Damien depart as friends, and Lola kisses Damien to encourage him to visit B13 in the future.
Cast
- Cyril RaffaelliCyril RaffaelliCyril Raffaelli is a French traceur, martial artist and stuntman.-Biography:Utilizing shotokan karate and wushu, Raffaelli has been a regular in films with Luc Besson and David Belle, the latter being a friend of his.-Filmography:...
... Capt. Damien Tomaso - David BelleDavid BelleDavid Belle is well known as the founder of Parkour. Belle founded Parkour based on his training and the teachings from his father Raymond Belle. The discipline has since spread around the world and now has adherents in virtually every country...
... Leïto - Tony D'AmarioTony D'AmarioTony D'Amario was a French actor best known for his role as K2 in Banlieue 13.He made his film debut in 1999, with a small role in The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc. He followed this with a string of small film roles throughout the early 2000s, and appeared in an episode of the long-running...
... K2 - Dany VerissimoDany VerissimoDany Verissimo is an actress and model.The child of a Malagasy mother and a French father, a financial director at Air France, Verissimo spent her childhood in France, the United States, and Nigeria. She began performing in pornography at 18 and a half years old, performing in films by John B...
... Lola - Bibi Naceri (as Larbi Naceri) ... Taha Bemamud
- François Chattot ... Krüger
- Nicolas Woirion ... Corsini
- Patrick Olivier ... Le colonel
- Samir Guesmi ... Jamel
- Jeff RudomJeff RudomJeffrey Zade Rudom was an American professional basketball player and actor who starred in films such as Gladiator, Revolver and District 13 as Yeti. He regularly appeared in Time Gentlemen Please. He played professional basketball in Israel, where he served in the armed forces and lived for...
(as Jeffrey Zade Rudom) ... Yeti
Reception
District 13 received mostly positive reviews and holds a rating of 81% on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, based on 108 reviews.
Sequel
Filming of a sequel, originally titled "Banlieue 14", began in August 2008 in BelgradeBelgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, and continued until October 2008. David Belle
David Belle
David Belle is well known as the founder of Parkour. Belle founded Parkour based on his training and the teachings from his father Raymond Belle. The discipline has since spread around the world and now has adherents in virtually every country...
and Cyril Raffaelli
Cyril Raffaelli
Cyril Raffaelli is a French traceur, martial artist and stuntman.-Biography:Utilizing shotokan karate and wushu, Raffaelli has been a regular in films with Luc Besson and David Belle, the latter being a friend of his.-Filmography:...
both reprised their original roles of Leito and Damien, respectively. The film was directed by Patrick Alessandrin with Luc Besson
Luc Besson
Luc Besson is a French film director, writer, and producer. He is the creator of EuropaCorp film company. He has been involved with over 50 films, spanning 26 years, as writer, director, and/or producer.-Early life:...
again producing and writing the screenplay. The title for the sequel was officially changed to District 13: Ultimatum in the post-production stages. It was released in France on February 18, 2009, and the United Kingdom on October 2, 2009.
Remake
A remake of the film, Brick Mansions, began pre-productionPre-production
Pre-production or In Production is the process of preparing all the elements involved in a film, play, or other performance.- In film :...
in 2010 by EuropaCorp
EuropaCorp
EuropaCorp is a French movie studio headquartered in Paris. It has been a listed company on Euronext Paris since July 2007. Co-founded by Luc Besson and Pierre-Ange Le Pogam, the Group takes on a range of production activities like film distribution in France, DVD distribution, sales of French TV...
.