Rond-point
A car going around a traffic circle day and night, day after day, is for sure no ordinary sight. Not only can it be puzzling but even outright unsettling. It does at least upset Célestine, an elderly woman who, from her block window, keeps observing the unending rotational ride of a white Citroën DS 19. A car whose driver she can barely make out, his only distinctive feature being that he wears a soft grey hat. Céleste, who lives in a concrete, rational world of well-adjusted routines, where everything is in its place, has a hard time putting up with this "anomaly". The thing gradually turns into an obsession. And her son-in-law may laugh at her, she has no other choice but to get to the bottom of it. And what she discovers is assuredly a... shock!
But don't rely on this writer to reveal the key to the traffic circle mystery. If you really want to know, just watch this entertaining short thriller concocted for you by filmmaker Pierre Alt : the solution to the enigma awaits you right in the middle of this skillfully crafted, surprise-filled story. Until then the suspense has been cleverly balanced until it explodes in your face. After that, another film begins, in another tone.
To be noted, particularly in the first part, is the director's art of playing with the geometric, moving figure of the circle. The film isn't called "Rond-point" (Traffic Circle) for nothing. The repeated gyrations of the car, filmed either from the outside or the inside of the mysterious car not only make Céleste nervous but they intrigue the viewer as well. Another source of circular movement is a merry-go-round, whose owner has a part to play in the events: we are also given to see it spinning and spinning, with some views taken from the carousel itself. There is also this unusual scene where Célestine and a visiting lady friend, while exchanging news seem to dance a ballet. Effective both stylistically and dramatically, these repeated concentric circles leave us with a feeling of vertigo, a nauseating impression - duly reinforced by competent editing as well as a soundtrack in keeping with the thriller atmosphere, at times a loud nerve-wracking fairground music whose ritornello tugs at the nerves, at other times film noir music adequately punctuating the action.
However, "Rond-point", good as it is, is not without its faults, the main one being its very amateurish acting. The actors, most of whom are non-professionals, do what they can, but their awkwardness and droning diction prevent the viewer from fully embracing the project.
As for the key to the mystery (which won't be revealed here), it's only half convincing, for one major good reason: why should Célestine have been the only one to notice the anomaly of the "ghost car"?
Moreover, however clever the twist halfway through the story, was Pierre Alt right to fall back into explanatory realism? Wouldn't he have produced a more fascinating work if he'd stayed with the unexplained, in other words, with madness, horror or surrealism? If he had remained closer to Poe than Boileau-Narcejac? Well, this is a matter of taste and even if you share this writer's feeling about the second part, you will find "Rond-point" quite entertaining. So please enjoy!
A car going around a traffic circle day and night, day after day, is for sure no ordinary sight. Not only can it be puzzling but even outright unsettling. It does at least upset Célestine, an elderly woman who, from her block window, keeps observing the unending rotational ride of a white Citroën DS 19. A car whose driver she can barely make out, his only distinctive feature being that he wears a soft grey hat. Céleste, who lives in a concrete, rational world of well-adjusted routines, where everything is in its place, has a hard time putting up with this "anomaly". The thing gradually turns into an obsession. And her son-in-law may laugh at her, she has no other choice but to get to the bottom of it. And what she discovers is assuredly a... shock!
But don't rely on this writer to reveal the key to the traffic circle mystery. If you really want to know, just watch this entertaining short thriller concocted for you by filmmaker Pierre Alt : the solution to the enigma awaits you right in the middle of this skillfully crafted, surprise-filled story. Until then the suspense has been cleverly balanced until it explodes in your face. After that, another film begins, in another tone.
To be noted, particularly in the first part, is the director's art of playing with the geometric, moving figure of the circle. The film isn't called "Rond-point" (Traffic Circle) for nothing. The repeated gyrations of the car, filmed either from the outside or the inside of the mysterious car not only make Céleste nervous but they intrigue the viewer as well. Another source of circular movement is a merry-go-round, whose owner has a part to play in the events: we are also given to see it spinning and spinning, with some views taken from the carousel itself. There is also this unusual scene where Célestine and a visiting lady friend, while exchanging news seem to dance a ballet. Effective both stylistically and dramatically, these repeated concentric circles leave us with a feeling of vertigo, a nauseating impression - duly reinforced by competent editing as well as a soundtrack in keeping with the thriller atmosphere, at times a loud nerve-wracking fairground music whose ritornello tugs at the nerves, at other times film noir music adequately punctuating the action.
However, "Rond-point", good as it is, is not without its faults, the main one being its very amateurish acting. The actors, most of whom are non-professionals, do what they can, but their awkwardness and droning diction prevent the viewer from fully embracing the project.
As for the key to the mystery (which won't be revealed here), it's only half convincing, for one major good reason: why should Célestine have been the only one to notice the anomaly of the "ghost car"?
Moreover, however clever the twist halfway through the story, was Pierre Alt right to fall back into explanatory realism? Wouldn't he have produced a more fascinating work if he'd stayed with the unexplained, in other words, with madness, horror or surrealism? If he had remained closer to Poe than Boileau-Narcejac? Well, this is a matter of taste and even if you share this writer's feeling about the second part, you will find "Rond-point" quite entertaining. So please enjoy!