“Crimson Rivers” is a film with an intricate plot, which is based on the investigation of a series of mysterious murders. One by one there are victims who died a violent death from multiple stab wounds. A brutal killer gouges out the eyes of his victim and cuts off his hands. He cauterizes their wounds in order to prolong the torment and delay the onset of death. To find the killer and reveal the meaning of the monstrous deeds, the Parisian police commissioner Pierre Nyeman, played by Jean Reno, is taken.
The meaning of the movie Crimson Rivers
In a small French town in the Alps, the corpse of a young man was found, who was identified as the librarian of the local university. It was shocking that the killer dragged the body of the victim into the mountains to a height of 50 meters. The man was completely naked, lying in a fetal position, devoid of eyes and hands. It was evident from everything that the killer was leaving clues and messages, but it was immediately impossible to understand what the essence of the crime was.
Inspector Nyeman finds himself in the morgue and sees with his own eyes the mutilated body of a man. And then he notices that tears are flowing from the closed eyes of the victim. It turned out to be acid rainwater. But such rains in that area have not been coming for a long time. To take ice samples, he goes to the mountains with a student Fanny, who is recognized as the best rock climber. He suspects her of murder, because she could drag the corpse to such a height. Suddenly, they find another corpse. It turns out to be Dr. Surtees, who worked in the maternity ward of the university.
In parallel with this town of Sarzak, the grave of 10-year-old Judith Erro, who died in 1982, is being desecrated. As a result of a terrible accident, almost nothing was left of the girl’s body. The heartbroken mother was found next to her daughter, she held her finger in her hands. According to her mother, Judith fell ill, so they had to seek medical attention at the place where Judith was born. But there they were attacked by “demons”. In an attempt to escape, the daughter was hit by a car.
The crime is being investigated by local inspector Max Kerkerian. The cemetery worker did not allow him to enter the crypt. He said he needed parental permission to do so. But mother Judith lost her mind after the tragedy and has been living in a monastery for 18 years, taking a vow of darkness.
The ophthalmologist Shernez tells Nyeman that the university staff began to give birth to children with disabilities, so in the maternity hospital they were replaced with children from the villagers. He also says that the human hands and eyes are unique parts of the human body, and this may be a clue in the investigation of the crime.
Meanwhile, Kerkerian finds a car that was seen in the cemetery at the time of the desecration of the grave. It belongs to Dr. Surtees. To understand what happened, Max goes to the doctor’s apartment. Nyeman is also sent there, but in order to inspect the apartment of the deceased. So both crimes are combined into one.
The detectives find photos and documents of Erro stolen from the archive in the doctor’s apartment. There they also discover many fighting dogs in cages and a dog hybrid. It becomes clear that the doctor was engaged in crossbreeding experiments. Surtees was also devoid of brushes, but his eyes were in place. Later it is learned that these are glass prostheses. They were exactly the same as Njeman saw in the office of the ophthalmologist Shernez. Going to him, the detectives found the doctor dead. Like the rest of the victims, his hands were cut off and his eyes gouged out.
Nyeman sends Inspector Kerkerian to the cemetery to investigate Judith Erro’s grave. Max finds out that the girl’s grave is empty, and only her photograph lies in the coffin. Nieman recognizes Fanny as a student in her.
The meaning of the final Crimson Rivers
The detectives go to see Fanny, but do not find her at home. In the basement, they find the hands and eyes of the victims. Fanny disappeared along with her climbing equipment, so the detectives go to search for her in the mountains. They find the girl and hold her at gunpoint. But another Fanny appears – a twin sister, who is Judith. She shows the detectives her hand, which is missing one finger, and says that her mother has provided for everything.
Embittered by the whole world, she has lived all her life in the shadow of her sister and now wants reprisals. She orders her sister to kill Nyeman, but Fanny shoots Judith instead. An avalanche breaks out from the sound of a shot. Fanny, Pierre and Max manage to escape under a tractor, while Judith dies.
The mother of the twins deliberately staged her daughter’s death in order to save her. In the maternity hospital, only one of the twins was replaced. Judith was a threat to the university staff, because she could solve their crime. The mother called them demons because they wanted to kill her daughter. In order for the “demons” to be convinced that Judith had died, she cut off her daughter’s finger and said that there was nothing left of her.
All this time the girl had to hide. As a result, she suffered a mental breakdown. She began to kill university staff, gouging out their eyes and hands and laying them in the fetal position. That is, at birth, these people were already deprived of their own personality, since the eyes and hands are unique parts of the body. She wanted her victims to be in the same position she was in.
