Film Review
French cinema's recently acquired obsession with vicious survival
thrillers shows little sign of abating although it is becoming
painfully evident that the directors and screenwriters are fast running
out of ideas. The latest entry in this increasingly formulaic
genre is
Captifs, a
respectable debut feature from director Yann Gozlan whose only real
fault is that it adds absolutely nothing to a genre that has so manifestly
run its course. On the plus side, it is an atmospheric piece that
sustains its tension and grimly fatalistic mood remarkably well, mainly
through a combination of unsettling camerawork and slick editing.
On the downside, it is so drenched in clichés that watching it
is like suffering from a bout of chronic
déjà vu, and its plot
is so threadbare that even the briefest of résumés
manages to encapsulate its entire content, spoilers and all.
Whilst the references
to other films in the slasher, survival and psycho-thriller genres are
perhaps a little to obvious,
Captifs
still manages to hang together and hold our interest, being all the
more effective as its director somehow resists the temptation to cover
his actors and the set with gallons of theatrical blood.
The 'less is more' principle is amply demonstrated
by this film.
Captifs has much more in
common with the early psycho-thrillers of the '60s and '70s than the
frenzied gore-fests of more recent times, more concerned with the
mental distress of the protagonists than in presenting a pointless orgy
of Grand Guignol blood splattering excess. Whilst, on paper, the
characters are thinly developed and a pretty superficial bunch, this is
at least partly compensated for by the quality of the acting, which is
above average for a film of this kind. Arié Elmaleh and
Zoé Félix, who are both better known for comedy, each
turns in a respectable dramatic performance that lends a great deal to
the film's tension and realism.
Captifs
is unlikely to win any awards for originality but it is a surprisingly
effective little thriller which manages to shock without resorting to
the crass juvenile excesses that have become
de rigueur for this now virtually
mined-out genre. Half a decade on, Yann Gozlan
returned with a more conventional thriller,
Un homme idéal (2015).
© James Travers 2011
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Film Synopsis
Carole, Samir and Dr Mathias make up a medical team that has been carrying
out essential humanitarian work in the Balkans during the Yugoslav conflict.
Their mission over, they head back home to Paris by truck, but on the way
they are stopped by a roadblock and have to take a detour. They lose
their way in the bleak countryside and, after asking directions at a remote
house, they are brutally attacked by some unsavoury looking individuals.
They are then taken away and thrown into cells, where they are kept prisoner.
Carole and her friends have no idea who their abductors may be or what they
intend doing with them. The truth is more terrifying than any of them
could have imagined...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.