I too saw this film when it was making the rounds at independent theaters. I don't recall it having a large theatrical release. It is an excellent film and owes much of it's quality to being a different POV from the standard Hollywood gangster movie. Not saying that all Hollywood gangster films are cookie cutter which they are not. For me it was a window into another culture and that it what made the film so intriguing.

I haven't seen the film since then and like you that was 10 years ago. I need to re-watch it.

It was quite a player on the awards circuit that year so I don't think it so under the radar - certainly one of the more high profile non-English films of its year. But it certainly deserved some recognition beyond the Foreign Language categories, Tahar Rahim and Niels Arestrup both give superb performances.

@mechajutaro said:

Why it flew under the radar.... Couple of guesses: the absence of even one character who was partial to wearing a cape and tights/flying around the planet fighting one-dimensionally evil villains plus the makers refusal to interject any sort of moral or political message into the plot makes this one persona non grata in the eyes of many present-day filmgoers

LMAO! 😂 I would also mention the subtitles as that turns off most viewers and if we are going to go there I would also mention the sympathetic take on Muslim immigrants.