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Michael says: “Here’s a cinematic event that all Chlotrudis
members should definitely try to see. Opening next Friday at the Brattle,
French director Lucas Belvaux’ trillogy of films, ON THE RUN, AN
AMAZING COUPLE, and AFTER THE LIFE. In a unique and extremely succesful creation,
Balvaux spins three separate films, each in its own genre, about the
same characters during the same span of time. While each film is wonderfully
realized on its own, so much more is attained by viewing all three. This
is going to be a tricky one come nomination time!
“ON THE RUN is Belvaux’s thriller, and it opens first. Bruno has been
in prison for nearly 15 years, and after a daring jailbreak, he returns
to Grenoble. Imprisoned for his time involved with a radical revolutionary
group, is he seeking revenge on the man who betrayed them? Or is he hoping
to pick up where his group of revolutionaries left off when they were
captured. Along the way, we meet one of his former allies, Jeanne, now
a mother and schoolteacher, who reluctantly becomes involved in his plans.
There is also Pascal, the police officer who is trying to hunt Bruno
down. In a complication, Bruno also becomes involved with Pascal’s wife
Agnès, who is a morphine junkie.
“Director Belvaux also plays lead character Bruno, with a mix of cool
ruthlessness and political passion. Bruno is deadly serious about his
cause, and woe to those who stand in his way, yet he shows a remarkable
empathy toward Agnès and her difficulties with her addiction.
“Belvaux uses sound marvelously well, in fact, the entire opening sequence
is done without images, only sound. He ratchets up the tension, and sets
the film off at a rapid pace as the plot unfolds and the body count mounts.
Ending on a surprisingly existential note, you couldn’t possibly be prepared
for the stories that will soon unfold simultaneously in the other two
films.”
3 1/2 cats
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Bruce says: “ON THE RUN is dead serious, a film as far
from AN AMAZING COUPLE as one could get. It takes but a few minutes into
the film to understand what Belvaux has accomplished with his style switching.
Bruno (Lucas Belvaux) escapes from prison with help from a friend on the
outside. Pascal is assigned to track him down. This is happening at the
same time that Cécile is preparing for her party and Alain is despairing
over his impending demise.
“Within twenty-four hours of the party Bruno has contacted Jeanne, his
former revolutionary comrade, and has encountered and rescued Agnès
as she attempts to meet a man with whom she has a business relationship;
finally he goes with Agnès to Cécile’s chateau in
the nearby countryside where she hides him from the police.
“In AN AMAZING COUPLE, on the day after the ill-timed surprise birthday
party, we saw Agnès asking Cécile to borrow her car and
use the chateau. Smarting from the sting of her own husband’s infidelity,
Cécile has assumed that Agnès is having an affair and begrudgingly
facilitates her friend’s rendezvous. We see the parts of the same
scene from a slightly different perspective, with considerably more information
than we had in the first film where Cécile screams at Agnès
‘Why can’t you go to a hotel like a normal person.’ Belvaux
toys with his audience while providing the viewer with an incredible
amount
of material to rehash. Few directors engage the audience in ways that
come close to what Belvaux does here. Rarely is filmgoing so demanding.
“All the while Bruno is hiding out and planning his escape across the
French Alps into Italy, Pascal is seeming closing in on him. Pascal is
also drawing conclusions regarding Alain’s comings and goings,
conclusions which confuse Cécile.
“ON THE RUN sticks with its implied theme and we finally learn Bruno’s
fate before we know or understand what is happening with the other characters.
ON THE RUN is considerably darker and more foreboding than the other
two films. Trying as hard as I can, I cannot envision this film as the
first in the trilogy. 4 cats”
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