It's the sadistic journey through the misery of men. This is a good movie though not an excellent one. Judging this one as the first attempt by any director with a fresh script, I will rate this movie better than many others of his genre. Required some patience to hang for the beginning one hour. The story slowly progresses and unwinds gripping you on the seat and making you bite you nail. From a very mundane beginning this film develops into the 'thriller'. But the true strength of this film lies in following the journey of the lead character who doesn't know what is going until it is too late.
The protagonist, Sébastien, played by George Babluani an immigrant, is hired to fix up the roof of an old house. His family at home needs money. He finds that his employer is not well, mentally & financially. He overhears a conversation while working on his employer's roof and finds something fishy there. Suddenly, the owner of the house he's working at dies of drug overdose. He finds an envelope outside the house and follows the instructions in that. The envelope contains a train ticket and paid hotel room. The letter seems to show him a bountiful of wealth upon executing the instructions there. When he decides to follow them, more letters and instructions follow. The desperate times call for him to go in place of his employer. Devoid of any knowledge of what he is pursuing and desperate to bring some money back to his family, he finds himself involved in a whirl of violence and eventually ends up in a house in the middle of the woods where he and others have to face a difficult task, in order to please the rich. He finally meets the dead end of the road he has chosen. I won’t disclose the script more as that will simply act as spoiler.
The first half is a mystery. It starts out initially as a seemingly simple tale soon turns into a twisted thriller. The amount of tension this film builds is incredible. In the second we are thrown into a violent hell. Audiences will be hooked. The film reintroduces us to the fact that the repetitiveness of violence deadens our revulsion to it. Here it applies to the main character in the film and to us as audience. Death as means to an end. Ultimately an allegory of the predatory nature of power and money.
The movie is not a bloated Hollywood concoction, derived of any original idea or emotion. It tells its story and ends, does not linger endlessly and unnecessarily. At first, it appears that the script is bland and direction is cold, but after a point, the film develops its own momentum, a slow, edgy pace, and we are introduced to one of the most claustrophobic scripts ever.
George Babluani (the director's brother) plays the main role. He does a competent job and gives an emotionally draining performance, transforming from a hopeful boy with work to a broken heap of nerves, fighting for his life knowing that his only hope for survival will be to kill at least one other human being. The emotions come across as very believable though not forced. This young actor is handsome, lithe, and intense with a gift of expression that is magical.
Good soundtrack which doesn't convolute every scene as silence plays a big role in the movie, building the tension. Also, pay attention to sounds and looks, which at times tells a whole sentence. Superb editing maintains the tension from beginning to end. The gorgeous black and white cinematography helps keep you on edge and adds to the effect, making it more gritty, gruesome, violent and realistic. It also enhances the expressions of characters, making them more artistic & sadistic towards the end.
A very impressive debut film by a young French filmmaker. This film is a debut that any veteran director would love to have included in his/her filmography. A minimalist film in terms of dialogue and set, the real magic lies in the performances. By showing reactions to and only short bursts of violence, director Géla Babluani has created a class of himself. Babluani sticks with reality and it is that much more effective as a result.
Personally I feel that if this movie had been made into a short movie of half an hour or 45 minutes it would have been more favorable with everybody.
Please post your personal comments about this movie.
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