The Big Pardon

The Big Pardon follows the Bettoun clan, a tight-knit criminal family that runs casinos, illegal gambling, underground fights and other rackets across France. Raymond heads the group while sons, cousins and loyal associates handle the dirty work and enforce the clan's rule. Pascal Villars, an outside adversary, sets up a conflict between the Bettouns and a rival Arab clan, a tactic that draws in commissioner Duché, who has been trying for years to break the family's power. As alliances shift and grudges escalate, the film watches how domestic rituals and criminal schemes intertwine, showing the costs of rivalry without revealing how events ultimately turn out now.

Released in 1982, The Big Pardon was directed by Alexandre Arcady and written by Daniel Saint-Hamont and Alain Le Henry. The film draws on original material created for the screen and features an ensemble of established French actors in France.

The movie had a modest theatrical presence in France and didn't become a major international hit. It attracted attention for its cast but its commercial reach remained mostly domestic, with limited distribution beyond French-speaking markets, mostly in French cinemas.

Critics gave mixed to positive reviews, and general viewer ratings average about 6.2 out of 10 based on 83 votes. The film turns on family loyalty, manipulation between rival groups, and the gray area where law enforcement can gain from inter-clan conflict, mixing dark humor with violent drama, with uneven pacing.

Though not widely cited internationally, The Big Pardon is remembered in France for its robust ensemble cast, including Roger Hanin and Jean-Louis Trintignant, and for fitting into the early 1980s trend of crime films that mixed ambiguity and realism. It contributed to later portrayals of organized crime in French cinema.