I Saw Ben Barka Get Killed (12A) <!-- none onestar twostar threestar fourstar fivestar -->

The spirit of Melville inhabits this noirish take on a real-life scandal of mid-Sixties Gaullist France. The Moroccan revolutionary Mehdi Ben Barka disappeared after being abducted by police in Paris, his fate traced back through a shady alliance between the CIA and French secret service, both bent on silencing Barka's anticolonial voice. At the centre is a crooked film producer, Georges Figon (Charles Berling), who narrates the story of his involvement from beyond the grave, where he has probably been dispatched by forces of darkness. Serge Le Péron stirs the intrigue to a rich consistency, and recreates Sixties Paris, aided by a busy jazz score.