Les Traducteurs is an interesting mystery thriller film that unfortunately fails to fulfil its lofty goals of delivering something as sharp as it sets out to do.

Nine translators are sworn to secrecy to work on the final chapter of the best-selling trilogy Dedalus, whose author remains unknown. Under the supervision of the novel’s soulless publisher, Angstrom (Lambert Wilson), the translators work in complete isolation in a bunker. Despite the stringent measures to ensure secrecy, pages of the highly-anticipated book are leaked online, and soon enough Angstrom finds himself in dire trouble when he receives a ransom note to prevent the publication of further pages.

The Translators is one of the newest attempts in the recent evolution of mystery films - it switches genres halfway through the film. The most recent work to do so is the brilliant Knives Out by Rian Johnson. However, this attempt by Régis Roinsard lacks maturity and finesse in comparison. The film starts steadily, takes some time to get into the meat of the plot, and, to my relief, picks up its pace in the latter half. Sprinkled with a handful of tense sequences to keep the tension taut, the film is entertaining and dramatic overall.

A mystery film requires a relatively strict and watertight plot compared to most genres. This is, however, not one of this film’s strong suits. Unfortunately, plot holes can be easily spotted, and that does take away some of the viewing experience. The film also strives to do more than just clue-solving and the truth revelation, which is commendable. It attempts to delve deeper into concepts like literature, publishing, and the parallels between fiction and reality, but the attempts feel half-hearted and are unfortunately reduced to forgettable red herrings by the end.

The Translators has a huge cast of incredible actors. However, the script does not justify that. With around 10 (supposedly) main characters, not much effort was put into making most of them memorable. We do not get to know most of them well enough to care, and in the end, I realise I do not even remember the names of half of them. However, despite the poor and insufficient character development, the actors delivered wonderful performances. Lambert Wilson and Olga Kurylenko are great, but Alex Lawther steals every scene. He can be innocent, menacing, caring, narcissistic, and cunning – truly an acting powerhouse in the works.

Where the film lacks in plot and character, the cinematography and music make up for it. Jun Miyake did a great job with the score and so did Guillaume Schiffman with the cinematography. The film looks and sounds gorgeous as a result.

All in all, Les Traducteurs is a passable attempt at a self-aware mystery thriller. With some polish on the plot and characters, the film could fare better, especially with such a great cast, visual and sound designs.

Author: Chia Jing Heng (andreusjh99)