Not even bad in a good way

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

This excellent thriller and character study of a young Israeli spy was produced in 1993-4. It plays as well as any memorable films of the same milieu, e.g. "Three Days of the Condor", "The Company", "Bourne", "Marathon Man", etc. That is pretty lofty company. I refuse to give away the plot but know that for two hours it will take you on a thrilling mystery ride. The casting and directing compliment a terrific script. Shot in Paris, Tel Aviv, Washington, D.C. and New York City it moves along without the gimmicks (CGI) or insane editing and music that so many films depend on today. Finally, the international cast of French, American and Israeli actors are in perfect harmony. Always good to see Alan Garfield in anything..

When I first watched it, in 1994, in a small french city movie theatre, I shouted: "F...! What a movie!". But days, weeks and months after, no one seemed to think like me. The critics I read were all bad (Then I started to cancel my subscription to a famous french movie magazine)and condemned this movie to death. However, I had seen it three times on screen. This movie is for me of the same blood as the spy movies from the 70's, where spies were not heroes any more, but particles of giant machines, and desperate men, seeing other people apart. "The days of the Condor", "Scorpio", "la 7eme cible" etc. were that kind of movies. with "Les Patriotes", Eric Rochant took his time (24 weeks of shooting)and his producers hired a tough cast (Richard Masur, Nancy Allen, Yossi Banai)to support local actors and a wonderful Yvan Attal who acted perfectly the young, experienceless, and tormented french Jewish spy who went to Israel by love in order to serve and protect his new home. But unfortunately, dreams are not reality... and protecting a country is not as rewarding as it seemed in James Bond movies. This movie is also worth to be seen because of the interest of Israel's concerns, the realistic (and dispassionate) way it is depicted. But the main topic is neither Israel, nor the Mossad, but being a spy and doing wrong to make good.

I picked this film out of the hundreds of foreign DVD's in Toronto's best video store - Bay Video. I thought it was a recent Israeli production and it wasn't until I got it home I realized the film was a French production made in 1994. However, I wasn't disappointed at all and consider this wonderful film one of the best spy 'thrillers' I have ever seen. Understated like the profession of spying and subtle to the point of seduction this film doesn't fudge the issues surrounding the necessity for such a service to exist in modern Israel nor does it gloss over some of the hard facts when innocents become collateral damage. The acting, the sets, the writing are all first rate and it's probably one of the best reasons to watch this film. I guarantee you won't want it to end without finding out what happens to all the characters.

Les Patriotes tells the story of a young Jewish Frenchman who decides to emigrate in Israel in order to join the famous Mossad. I don't think the scriptwriters intended to reveal us the truth about the world's most secret service (who can claim to really have solid informations about that?). Yet they wrote an excellent screenplay, worth the best spy movies. Les Patriotes is an exciting description of the daily work of the spies. It is a beautifully-acted movie that doesn't show off and in the same time tells us a lot of things. It is a captivating vision of what a state manipulation is. So, if you have the chance, see it!