The Lost Son

The Lost Son is a 1999 crime drama starring French actor Daniel Auteuil and set in London. It was directed by Chris Menges. Plot Xavier Lombard is a Parisian private detective based in London. His best friend is Nathalie, a high-class call girl. He gets a telephone call from an old friend in the Paris police department, now a businessman whose brother-in-law is missing. The missing man's parents hire Xavier over their daughter's objections, and he quickly finds himself caught up in the underworld of child sex slavery. He guesses that the lost son is dead and shifts his focus to finding and breaking this lucrative business of child trafficking. He gets a reluctant Nathalie to hunt "the Austrian", the shadowy head of the pedophile ring. Violence erupts quickly, and Xavier soon has little more to lose. Cast Daniel Auteuil - Lombard Marianne Denicourt - Nathalie Nastassja Kinski - Deborah Katrin Cartlidge - Emily Ciarán Hinds - Carlos Bruce Greenwood - Alex Friedman Billie Whitelaw - Mrs Spitz Cyril Shaps - Mr. Spitz Jamie Harris - Hopper Cal Macaninch - Martin Hemal Pandya - Shiva Billy Smyth - "Boy No 6" Reception DVD Verdict panned the film, writing "The Lost Son has its heart in the right place, but it fumbles the ball by presenting an idea with great potential in a fairly lackluster package. There is not enough substance here to make the film worthy of a purchase." The Herald was mixed in their review, stating that Menges "handles the unpleasant aspects in Eric and Margaret Leclere's script with tact" but that the film had too many unbelievable moments.