ON THE RUN
Directed & Written by: Lucas Belvaux.
Produced by: Patrick Soberman & Diana Elbaum.
Director of Photography: Pierre Milon.
Edited by: Ludo Troch.
Music by: Riccardo del Fra.
Released by: Magnolia.
Country of Origin: Belgium/France. 117 min. Not Rated.
With: Lucas Belvaux, Catherine Frot & Dominique Blanc.

On The Run, the first part of The Trilogy, begins swiftly with a prison escape, followed immediately by a car chase. Bruno, a boyish revolutionary on the lam, hops on a train and returns to his hometown, Grenoble, nestled in the foothills of the French Alps. Hiding out in a storage bin, he has everything he needs: food, water, and tools for making license plates. He even hot-wires a police car. Although his resourcefulness is superhuman, writer/director Lucas Belvaux (who also plays Bruno), dispels disbelief by showing Bruno, step by step, trying to outwit the police. Resembling a boyish Brad Davis, he easily blends into the crowd. He’s a Marxist Peter Pan, still dressing like the student activist of 20 years ago before he served time. Out for vengeance against the legal system and the snitch that sent him to prison, he tracks down Jeanne (Catherine Frot), a former comrade. Married and now a mother, she has been expecting him, and so has the police, who have her under surveillance. When she refuses to take part in his plans, he’s completely on his own.

What makes Bruno compelling is that he is both repellent, especially as he turns calmly violent in the film’s second half, yet charming. He rescues a woman being beaten by a drug dealer, knocking out her assailant. She runs off, only to return moments later fleeing a police blockade. With the noose tightening around them, the addict, Agnès, offers him refuge. Her apartment is the last place the police would look; her husband is one of the cops pursuing Bruno. He, in turn, cares for her when her body goes into shock. At this point, the trilogy’s two main story lines collided.

Not all of the relationships will be clear at first viewing, but as The Trilogy progresses, they eventually come into focus (such as the connection between Jeanne and Agnès). The acting is the film’s strength. Jeanne, being taken in for questioning, subtly bristles at not being able to open a car door, having to be let out by the police instead. Frot’s restraint contrasts with Dominique Blanc’s feral portrayal as the strung-out Agnès. And unlike many recent unrelentingly paced films, such as 28 Days Later, director Belvaux wisely takes his time in building suspense, not signaling when a bang is going to occur, and allows the film to surprise. Although a few of the sequences are a bit too long, (Bruno driving through the streets to a rendezvous with a drug lord), overall the film is engrossing and well crafted. KT
January 30, 2004