A young drifter with a record of petty crime and drug addiction ends up in prison after a robbery turns deadly. Those who take charge of her, however, spot in her an unusual quality they regard as valuable for purposes far removed from punishment. A secret state agency recruits her, puts her through demanding training and gives her a new identity. From then on she must live a double life, in which every assignment threatens her personal ties. The film explores the clash between the harshness of her trade and the possibility of an affective life of her own, without revealing its ending.

How it was made

The project grew out of Luc Besson's wish to write a role for Anne Parillaud, then his partner, though he deliberately wrote the character against her established image so audiences would not see a mere version of the actress. Besson has said the role went against type: a shy young woman in glasses who had never held a weapon. Gaumont financed the film on the strength of Besson's earlier hit The Big Blue without having read a finished script. The budget was 39 million francs, and the production was shared by Les Films du Loup, Gaumont and Cecchi Gori Group. During the shoot, Besson and Parillaud, who had a young daughter together, lived apart and took turns between home and a hotel. The score mixes Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with music by Éric Serra, and Thierry Arbogast's cinematography relies on strong contrasts. Jean Bouise, who died a year before the release, played his final film role, and the film is dedicated to his memory.

Reception and legacy

The film premiered in Paris on 21 February 1990 and became a surprise hit. It drew 113,900 viewers in its first week in the capital and about 3.8 million in France by 2000, though it trailed The Big Blue at the box office. It was sold to more than 95 countries and was warmly received in Montreal. Anne Parillaud won the César for Best Actress in 1991 and the David di Donatello in the same category, and the film earned further nominations. Roger Ebert praised it as a smart, hard-edged psycho-romantic thriller. Its influence was considerable: it inspired remakes in Hong Kong, Hollywood and Bollywood, along with television series in Canada and the United States, making it a landmark of female-led action cinema.