Les Voleurs (1996) - film review

This film concerns a complicated love triangle involving a cop (Alex), a philosophy lecturer (Marie) and a young student Juliette.   The latter belongs to a group of organised criminals, which, coincidentally, is headed by Alex’s brother, Ivan.  During a robbery which goes badly wrong, Ivan is killed, and this has a profound impact on the relationship of the three central characters.

With its bizarre construction (relying heavily on out-of-sequence flashbacks), Les Voleurs appears more like an intellectual exercise than a conventional passive cinema experience.  Whilst this can at times be frustrating for the spectator, the film somehow manages to hold his or her attention, through a combination of good photography and interesting characterisation.  The only thing which mars the film is its sudden ending, which leaves the impression that only half of the story has been told.

The film has some memorable scenes, notably Catherine Deneuve discussing philosophy with a street criminal.  It is not one of Deneuve’s best performances, but her pairing with Daniel Auteuil works well, although Auteuil is (yet) again playing a solitary middle aged man who has difficulty getting a girlfriend.

© James Travers 1999

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