Black Box (2021 film)

Black Box

Company type	Film
Industry	Film industry
Founded	2021
Headquarters	France, Belgium
Products	Mystery thriller film

Black Box () is a 2021 mystery thriller film from France and Belgium, directed by Yann Gozlan. This French-Belgian co-production features Pierre Niney portraying Mathieu Vasseur, an expert black box analyst working at the Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety, who is tasked with investigating a deadly airplane accident.

The movie made its debut at the Alliance Française French Film Festival on 5 March 2021, followed by its theatrical release in France and Belgium on 8 September 2021. It earned five nominations at the 47th César Awards.

Plot

An Atrian 800 aircraft crashes under mysterious circumstances in the French Alps, resulting in the loss of all passengers. Mathieu Vasseur, an investigator specializing in aviation safety, examines the cockpit voice recorder and uncovers evidence of forced cockpit entry, initially pointing toward a terrorist act. After the disappearance of his superior, Victor Pollock, Mathieu assumes responsibility for completing the crash investigation report.

As he digs deeper, Mathieu identifies discrepancies within the voice recorder data and a passenger’s voicemail, casting doubt on the terrorism hypothesis—a conclusion rejected by agency chief Philippe Rénier. When Pollock’s residence is found deserted, Mathieu discovers dashcam footage showing Pollock meeting covertly with Xavier Renaud, CEO of Pegase Security, a company that manufactures aircraft communication technology—hinting at a possible cover-up.

A pilot informs Mathieu about persistent problems with the Atrian 800’s rudder anti-stall system despite its certification as airworthy. Using connections through his wife Noémie, who works for Atrian, Mathieu secretly acquires flight test records. Upon learning of this data breach, Atrian suspends Noémie, who confronts Mathieu over his interference. Mathieu persuades Rénier to conduct a simulation of the anti-stall system using the obtained data; the test reveals no malfunctions. As Mathieu becomes increasingly obsessed and mentally unstable, Rénier removes him from the case.

Journalist Caroline Delmas uncovers that David Keller, an ex-Pegase employee arrested for attempting to hack into aircraft systems, was aboard the ill-fated flight. Before being reassigned, Mathieu finds that Pollock altered files containing GPS coordinates leading to a pond behind Pollock’s home. There, he discovers the original cockpit voice recorder and learns that Keller had hacked into the plane's systems intending to expose Pegase’s vulnerabilities but lost control of the aircraft, causing the crash.

A video confession from Pollock reveals that he tampered with evidence under pressure from Renaud’s blackmail. While reviewing this confession, intruders break in; Mathieu manages to escape after sending the recording to Noémie but dies in a suspicious car accident caused by manipulated vehicle controls.

At the Paris Air Show, Noémie publicly shares Pollock’s confession with industry leaders and media representatives. This disclosure triggers a scandal that ultimately leads to Renaud’s arrest by authorities.

Development

Yann Gozlan, who directed and co-wrote the film, is passionate about civil aviation and aimed to delve into the intricate financial and operational dynamics involving manufacturers, airlines, and pilots within the sector. He considered this environment a unique and captivating setting for the movie.

To accurately portray his character, lead actor Pierre Niney engaged closely with investigators from the Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA). He accompanied an investigator whose background closely resembled that of his role, allowing him to master the technical skills essential for an acoustician's authenticity.

Filming

The main shooting commenced on 9 September 2019 in the Paris area. By October 2019, filming shifted to Epinay Studios located in Épinay-sur-Seine, with further scenes captured at Cergy's city hall. To enhance realism, actual graduates from the École nationale de l'aviation civile participated in a reception scene arranged by ENAC Alumni.

Release

The movie debuted on 5 March 2021 at the 32nd Alliance Française French Film Festival held in Australia. Studiocanal distributed it theatrically in France starting 8 September 2021, with a concurrent release in Belgium through Anga Distribution.

Box office

Achieving significant commercial success in France, the film attracted 1.2 million viewers domestically and amassed total earnings of million euros within the country, contributing to a global box office total of million euros.

Critical response

On the French platform AlloCiné, Black Box maintains an average score of 3.8 out of 5 stars based on 33 critiques. Meanwhile, Rotten Tomatoes reports a 94% approval rating from 18 reviews, with an average rating of 7.3/10.

Le Monde commended the film's suspenseful storytelling, highlighting that although the conspiracy element might be somewhat foreseeable, the narrative effectively sustains tension throughout.

Accolades

Award	Ceremony Date	Category	Nominee(s)	Outcome
César Awards	25 February 2022	Best Actor	Pierre Niney	Template:Nom
		Best Original Screenplay	Yann Gozlan, Simon Moutaïrou, Nicolas Bouvet-Levrard	Template:Nom
		Best Editing	Valentin Féron	Template:Nom
		Best Sound	Nicolas Provost, Nicolas Bouvet-Levrard, Marc Doisne	Template:Nom
		Best Original Music	Philippe Rombi	Template:Nom
Jakarta Film Week	21 November 2021	Global Feature Award	Black Box	Template:Nom
Reims Polar	30 May 2021	Audience Award		Template:Won