Close Enemies 2018

Manuel [Matthias Schoenaerts] and Imrane Mogalia [Adel Bencherif], members of an Arabic crime family, celebrate their friend Nouri’s release from jail. Nouri’s jail connections pull them toward a new drug deal, and on Imrane’s urging, Manuel sets up the operation. En route, they are ambushed in a drive-by shooting that leaves Imrane and Sergio [Djamel Lazaar] dead. Manuel escapes, but he immediately becomes the prime suspect, haunted by both the criminal underworld and the police. Driss [Reda Kateb], an Arabic narcotics officer who grew up with Manuel, reveals that Imrane was working as an informant. Manuel refuses to believe it at first and balks at Driss’s offer to work together, while Driss faces mistrust and hostility within the Arabic community as he pursues the case and tries to reach out to his old circle.

Driss soon lands under pressure to explain the loss of his informant. Manuel is pressed by crime boss Raji [Ahmed Benaissa] to identify who killed Imrane. After another attempt on his life, Manuel reluctantly agrees to team up with Driss. He kills Carminatti [Simon Ferrante], a gangster he suspects of tipping off the killer, and uses Carminatti’s phone to track a burner number. Driss warns Manuel that homicide detectives may arrest him, and he advises him to surrender, arguing that he would likely be released for lack of solid evidence. As the investigation unfolds, Manuel follows the trail to Jean-Marc Furlan [Guillaume Verdier], who finally concedes that Raji was behind the order and had Nouri arrange it. Manuel doubts this at first, but he consults with Driss, who explains that Raji may be trying to curry favor with corrupt Moroccan officials over an unauthorized drug deal.

After Manuel’s estranged ex-wife Manon [Gwendolyn Gourvenec] provides him with an alibi, the police release him. Driss pushes Manuel to replace Imrane as his informant and to continue the original deal that sparked the killings. The operation spirals out of control, and Manuel learns there is now a contract on his life. Driss intervenes to save him but his presence raises suspicions among the drug dealers that Manuel is an informant. Aware that Manuel cannot walk away unpunished without risking jail time, Driss urges him to surrender. Manuel asks for a few hours before arrest, during which he warns Manon and his son Yvan [Noah Benzaquen] that he will likely be away for some time. He then breaks into Raji’s house to confront him; Raji admits ordering the hit but says he did it to protect his family, admitting that it has instead destroyed everyone’s lives. Driss arrives just as Manuel shoots Raji. Manuel leaves the house, but is shot dead outside, leaving viewers with the stark implication that Nouri [Omar Salim] steps into Raji’s place in the Moroccan underworld.