Les Aiguilles rouges (2006) - film review

In 1960, a party of boy scouts, led by Patrick, arrives in the Chamonix valley.  Known as the Eagles, the party consists of boys aged between 12 and 16, many of whom are poorly disciplined.  Their assignment is to climb the Brévent, one of the highest mountains in the Mont Blanc range...

Having earned a dubious reputation for his bawdy comedies, director Jean-François Davy tackles a more serious subject in this semi-autobiographical drama, albeit with mixed results.  Whilst the film looks stunning with its eye-popping location photography, it is painfully mired in clichés and lacks finesse in just about every department, especially its direction, script and acting.  Despite one or two stand-out performances (Jules Sitruk is the only cast member who even vaguely resembles a professional actor), the acting is universally dire and the spectator has little chance of developing any sympathy for the thinly sketched, unconvincingly portrayed protagonists.  Les Aiguilles rouges will doubtless have some nostalgia value for those who can identify with the film’s subject, but its impact is cruelly undermined by its inescapable flaws.
© Mark Roberts (London, UK) 2011 

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