Tigres et Hyènes or Hunting With Tigers is the 2024 French action thriller film by Jérémie Guez. It combines action and drama, and captures the nuances of loyalty, family, and criminal legacy with grit and fervor. The film is set in modern France, inspired by timeless heist films that come with tears. A tautly choreographed heist sets the stage for Wael Sersoub to shine as the lead, and partake in a story rife with violence. It is a tale of human interaction steeped in fire, crime, survival, and the bonds that anchor allegiance and the consequences that come forth when they break.
Synopsis
Malik, a young Parisian hustler, is the protagonist of the film. Hailing from the streets, he is the unwilling successor to a criminal empire. The poor kid struggles to cope with Serge Lamy, his stepfather, the notorious ex-banker, who is well-remembered in France for his barbaric efficiency and twisted hero code. Following a botched robbery, Serge was sent to prison. His incarceration will eventually lead to the termination of his career and financial ruination, drowning in a bitter legacy of crime with no freedom in sight.
Meet Iris, a crafty and opportunistic lawyer who offers Malik an intriguing proposition: if he can convince Serge’s former crew to pull off one last heist, there may be a chance Serge gets released. The job? Extremely bold and dangerous: capturing an enormous inflow of illegal money masquerading as an agent’s cash delivery to an armored vehicle. It’s illegal and offers unmatched rewards.
Malik, caught in a deep internal struggle between resentment and reverence toward Serge, accepts the challenge to garner the crew. He contacts Avi, a remarkably violent and brilliant planner with profound emotional scars; Ange, a self-imposed reclusive veteran of the French underworld seeking redemption; and Azzedine, a former convicted burglar dragged back into an existence he tried fleeing from. Each member offers unique skills—and unresolved conflicts.
Timing, deception, and complete halting of a tunnel in Paris is what The Plan requires. With time, tension builds not only between crew members but within Malik himself. The crushing weight of legacy and betrayal as well as loyalty slowly drives him insane knowing full well his decisions would chain him to a disdained life he never wished for.
The intricacies of the heist involve a staggering display of skill blended with extreme stress, but the aftermath is chaotic and messy. In an attempt to rescue Serge, things escalate into a full-blown identity crisis for Malik. An epic showdown at the courthouse dismantles every belief Malik held dearly and forces him to grapple with the choice of clinging onto the familiar, violent ways of life dictated by the streets or forging a radical new path towards peace—albeit fraught with peril.
Pre and Post Production Information
Director: Jeremie Guez
Writers: Jérémie Guez, Louis Lagayette
Producers: Aimée Buidine, Juien Madon
Cinematography: Léo Lefevre
Original Score: Lionel Limiana, David Menke
Principal Cast:
Waël Sersoub as Malik: A conflicted family man and self-serving, charismatic young adult in sharp conflict with family values.
Sofiane Zermani as Avi: An emotionally volatile genius with a hair-trigger temper and remarkable criminal talents.
Géraldine Nakache as Iris: A cold, yet sharp and manipulative, immoral, lawyer devoid of empathy and ethics, capable of using laws to concepts to achieve her objectives.
Vincent Perez as Serge Lamy: The notorious father figure who is ruthless and cruel, perpetuating his suffocating influence on everyone living in this story.
Olivier Martinez as Ange: Treading carefully, the former professional exudes a quiet intensity and tries hard to avoid cats and trouble.
Samir Guesmi as Azzedine – The tempered ex-con whose morals undergo definitive scrutiny.
Cassandra Cano, Omar Salim, and Losene Keita complete the ensemble with minor roles that portray the depth of crime and the will to live against the odds.
Themes and Style
Hunting With Tigers, like many stories, chronicles a man’s struggle with legacy and survival but takes a more distinctive approach with criminal loyalty. Malik’s plight mirrors a one man cycle of violence; the spiral marked by a father, or stepfather in this scenario, whose long shadow’s sins are impossible to escape. The film’s take on crime as an act of necessity verging on honor is relentlessly honest, albeit harsh.
Jérémie Guez, having established cinema verite’s presence in noir thrillers, directs with confidence in pacing and rhythm. Paris, the city he shows is not the twinkling postcard of a citi: it is a covered underbelly of concrete, illuminated only by neon lights and crammed alleys. This stark contrast is captured beautifully by Léo Lefèvre in his remarkable cinematography, bringing to life the city, and transforming it into a dangerously alluring character of the film.
The score by Lionel Limiñana and David Menke features a moody, heartbeat-like rhythm. It contributes additional tension without being overbearing and works with the editing to enhance other action scenes, capturing the heist with almost surgical precision. The music highlights the emotional and ethical burden of the characters’ decisions rather than glorifying criminality.
Reception
Following its release, Hunting With Tigers garnered positive to mixed feedback from critics and viewers alike. The audience praised the film’s character-driven storytelling and its darker, more psychological approach to the heist genre. Wa’el Sersoub’s performance received particular praise, with many noting the nuance and restraint he brought to portraying Malik’s internal conflict.
The film was commended for its action sequences, which incorporated realistic tension and practical choreography in place of extravagant stunts. Nevertheless, some critics argued that the film at times tried to balance too many elements—personal drama, courtroom tension, and crime—leading to loss of focus in some moments.
Regardless, the film was noted for attempting to add emotional layers to a cinematic landscape filled with action and intensity. The willingness of the film to examine the moral questions surrounding loyalty, sacrifice, and life as a criminal helped it resonate with viewers on a deeper level.
Conclusion
Hunting With Tigers is not a conventional heist film. While it contains the thrills, suspense, and intricate planning typical of the genre, it is equally concerned with the psychology and emotional realities of its protagonists. In Malik’s character arc, the film poses questions theater-goers tend to dismiss: What is the value of loyalty? What is the price of survival? Can one truly outrun their past?
Guez’s direction together with a strong performance from the cast and the gritty image of the film polish the story beyond genre clichés. It is a film that is respectful to the audience’s intelligence by asking them to imagine while entertaining them. For those who enjoy a gripping, character-focused, and emotionally rich crime drama, Hunting With Tigers will give them a thrilling experience set within the modern Parisian underworld.
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