In mid-2016 a friend invited me to check a box of DVDs he had purchased at the market.The first cover to catch my attention was a cool-looking French Neo-Noir that I've never heard of before. Rushing to check the movie, I was disappointed to find no English Subs on the disc,and little sign of the film online. Continuing to try and find a version with subtitles for over a year,I was happily caught by surprise,when a fellow poster on the Fistful of Leone directed me to the place where I could at last say, so long.
View on the film:
Fuelling up in early 80's France, co-writer/(with Alain Page) director Claude Berri & cinematographer Bruno Nuytten pull Neo-Noir atmosphere through a Cinéma Du Look (CDL) filter of dusty neon blue igniting Bensoussan's moped ride along the underbelly of the city. Dragged away from his dead-end job by Bensoussan,Berri makes Lambert's confrontations with local gangsters crackle with short, blunt force Noir violence, spiked by the ruby red lights of Lola's Punk culture rumbling into their lives.
Adapting Page's own novel,the screenplay by Page and Berri brilliantly scrambles Neo-Noir grit to the stylisation of CDL, via the Film Noir loner getting converted to the trio (and in Lola and Bensoussan cases: youthful rebels) being outcast of society,each stuck in a wilderness they can't escape, ruled with an iron fist by separate from each of them, the writers brilliantly make Lambert become the centre of the group by his tough-nosed actions being driven by a desire to keep Lola and Bensoussan safe,which shatters in a freeze-frame final.
Stomping into their lives,Agnès Soral gives a whirlwind performance as Lola-at first powered by Soral with a Punk thump against any attempts made to bond with her, which Soral curls into compassion as she learns of Lambert's past. Bringing the trouble to town,Richard Anconina gives an infectious performance as Bensoussan,which sparkles even as he gets in too deep. Famed as a stand-up comedian, Coluche (who died age 41 from a motorbike accident in 1986) gives an amazing performance in his first "serious" role as Lambert,thanks to Coluche capturing how the outsider status has worn Lambert down, until the crossing of tracks with Lola and Bensoussan has Coluche crunch down on Lambert with a determination to say, so long.
View on the film:
Fuelling up in early 80's France, co-writer/(with Alain Page) director Claude Berri & cinematographer Bruno Nuytten pull Neo-Noir atmosphere through a Cinéma Du Look (CDL) filter of dusty neon blue igniting Bensoussan's moped ride along the underbelly of the city. Dragged away from his dead-end job by Bensoussan,Berri makes Lambert's confrontations with local gangsters crackle with short, blunt force Noir violence, spiked by the ruby red lights of Lola's Punk culture rumbling into their lives.
Adapting Page's own novel,the screenplay by Page and Berri brilliantly scrambles Neo-Noir grit to the stylisation of CDL, via the Film Noir loner getting converted to the trio (and in Lola and Bensoussan cases: youthful rebels) being outcast of society,each stuck in a wilderness they can't escape, ruled with an iron fist by separate from each of them, the writers brilliantly make Lambert become the centre of the group by his tough-nosed actions being driven by a desire to keep Lola and Bensoussan safe,which shatters in a freeze-frame final.
Stomping into their lives,Agnès Soral gives a whirlwind performance as Lola-at first powered by Soral with a Punk thump against any attempts made to bond with her, which Soral curls into compassion as she learns of Lambert's past. Bringing the trouble to town,Richard Anconina gives an infectious performance as Bensoussan,which sparkles even as he gets in too deep. Famed as a stand-up comedian, Coluche (who died age 41 from a motorbike accident in 1986) gives an amazing performance in his first "serious" role as Lambert,thanks to Coluche capturing how the outsider status has worn Lambert down, until the crossing of tracks with Lola and Bensoussan has Coluche crunch down on Lambert with a determination to say, so long.