French cinema has always brought us empathy and intuition over logic and plot. Which perhaps explains why "Le 4eme Pouvoir" - nominally an American-styled political thriller featuring international gangsters, police, high-ranked politicians, buzzing news rooms and live TV broadcasts - ultimately shines most as an unlikely love drama.

Leads Garcia and Noiret are very convincing, despite having some less-than-stellar dialogue to work with. Serge Leroy proves to be a very capable director, moving the story along briskly, even if sometimes at the expense of plausabiilty. As a bonus, there is a grainy VHS tape and generous dose of cool 1980s fashion - I particularly enjoyed Garcia's haircut, her outfits, and the interior design of her apartment.

This fourth power is none other than the medias : Catherine Carré represents the television news,a nice place where "you just stand aside and look" whereas her ex-lover ,Yves Dorget , represents the press where you can write anything you want and you "are fighting a constant struggle ".

A prime minister is involved in the murder of an opponent of a Third World country government ;France (and himself)had a stake in a deal :2 power plants were to be built in the country .

In the past ,André Cayatte and Yves Boisset used to broach this kind of story :their works were heavily demonstrative,but they were often efficient ;Serge Leroy showed in the past he could treat such burning subjects ,as his brilliant " La Traque" shows .

Unfortunately,Françoise Giroud 's screenplay is oversimplified ,you can read through it ;it accumulates caricatures (the TV chief executive ,played by a wasted Brialy,Dorget's editor) clichés (the estranged couple whose adventures bind them together again...for a while) ,and egregious gaffes ( the reporters meeting , the restaurant owner at the beck and call of her famous guest).

The only asset of this heavy-handed political movie is its principals :both Philippe Noiret and Nicole Garcia try their best to give their characters some substance ;and given the limitations they were working under, they are to be praised .