Jean-François Richet's L'Ennemi public nº 1 | Mesrine 2: Public Enemy No 1 (2008)

The second of the two-part film about Mesrine's career as a gangster goes from 1972 up to his death in November 1979, is entirely set in France and we see him in a large number of disguises: becoming increasingly known throughout France, he had to ensure that no one would recognise him. There is also an increasing desire for self-advertisement: not only does he publish the book L'Instinct de mort (1977) about his crimes and all the people he's killed (39, he claims) but he has a fascination for communicating with the media.

He is imprisoned in 1973, although he escapes by holding the judge hostage. He is discovered and sent to La Santé for twenty years. However, he manages to escape over the wall with another prisoner, François Besse (Mathieu Amalric), wearing the uniforms they've taken from prison wardens.

Mesrine is living a wealthy life with his girlfriend Sylvia (Ludivine Sagnier) until the Brigade de recherche et d'intervention (BRI) shoot him dead at the wheel of his car. Eighteen bullets hit him, his partner is seriously hurt, losing one eye, and their poodle is also killed. In 2011 she published Ma vie avec Mesrine. For many people, perhaps inevitably because of the glamour attached to him, Mesrine is a kind of hero, a representation of a lawless form of freedom.

Jean-François Richet's L'Instinct de mort | Mesrine 1: Killer Instinct (2008)

L'Instinct de mort is the first of a two-part crime film based on the life of the infamous Jacques Mesrine (pronounced, he insists, with a silent 's') as related by himself in the book of the same title. Jean-Paul Belmondo had originally bought the rights for L'Instinct de mort, intending to make a film, but this was not to be.

Vincent Cassel is ideal for the role. This first part traces his life from 1959 to 1972, from his being a soldier with the gruelling, violent French war against Algeria. Back in France he has no wish to have an honest, conventional job and turns to a life of crime with his old schoolfriend Paul (Gilles Lelouche), whose boss is Guido (Gérard Depardieu), who will serve as protection to Mesrine. Later, Paul and Guido will be murdered by unknown attackers, although by then Mesrine will be elsewhere.

Mesrine's life in the first part is of him in various countries, briefly in Spain (where he meets his wife Sofia (Elena Anaya), and to whom he is later divorced), but also for instance Québec and the USA. Although he's tried to go straight he's basically a robber and a killer enjoying the high life which he's well aware be be temporary.