Onoda’s directorial debut returns to TV tonight

In 2016, Arthur Harari signed this very successful thriller starring Niels Schneider and August Diehl.

Known for Onoda – 10,000 Nights in the Jungle and having co-signed with Justine Triet the screenplay for Anatomy of a Fall (awarded at the Oscars in 2024), Arthur Harari already made a notable debut in 2016 with his first feature film, Black Diamond, rebroadcast this evening on France 4 (and available the next day in streaming on France Télévision).

The filmmaker will also reunite with the main actor of Black Diamond, Niels Schneider, for his highly anticipated new film, The Unknownwhich is scheduled for release in 2026 and which will certainly be unveiled at the Cannes Film Festival. An adaptation of a comic book co-written by Harari and his brother Lucas, where the character of Schneider will wake up in the body of… Léa Seydoux.

The story of Black Diamond : Pier Ulmann survives in Paris, between construction sites and thefts he commits on behalf of Rachid, his only “family”. His story catches up with him the day his father is found dead in the street, after a long decline. The black beast of a rich diamond family based in Antwerp, he leaves her nothing, apart from the story of his banishment by the Ulmanns and a bitter thirst for revenge. At the invitation of his cousin Gabi, Pier goes to Antwerp to renovate the offices of the prestigious Ulmann firm. Rachid’s instructions are simple: “You go there to see, and to take. » But a diamond has many facets…

Première’s review: The son of a jeweler reconnects with his father’s family to better avenge him by organizing a heist. In a way reminiscent of Little Odessa, another brilliant first film, Black Diamond is loaded with meaning and references, but screenwriter and director Arthur Harari has enough instinct to balance the ingredients harmoniously. A dark and contemporary variation on the theme of Hamlet, it deals with revenge, of course, but also with destiny and free will. As for the filial relationship, it is omnipresent and readable on several levels, the main character (played by Niels Schneider) having different fathers, biological, symbolic and surrogate. The Antwerp diamond community, which he joined to learn the trade, is a reservoir of signs that the filmmaker cheerfully exploits, from the severed hand, which is one of the city’s symbols, to diamonds whose value, multiple facets and relationship to light encourage reflection.

Trailer:

Abdel Hafed Benotman, the raw jewel of Diamant Noir