Lost in translation

Director: Fred Cavayé,
Starring: Gilles Lellouche, Roschdy Zem, Gérard Lanvin, Elena Anaya

Samuel (Lellouche) is a nurse working at a hospital when his pregnant wife (Anaya) is kidnapped before his very eyes. Knocked unconscious, he comes to and discovers that a dangerous criminal named Sartet (Zem) is responsible, and if he’s ever to see his wife again, he must do Sartet’s bidding. Samuel quickly finds himself pitted against rival gangsters and trigger-happy police in a deadly race to save the lives of his wife and unborn child.

Directed by Frenchman Fred Cavayé – who’s last film, Anything For Her was later remade in Hollywood and renamed The Next Three Days – Point Blank starts with a pulse-quickening chase down flights of stairs and across Parisian rooftops, and continues with blistering action that doesn’t let up until the closing credits.

This is not a modern Hollywood sort of action thriller with over-tweaked special effects and unfunny quips. The chase scenes take place on foot and there isn’t a joke in sight - just a man with something to lose, and a deadline ticking away.

Like Cavayé’s last film, Point Blank will undoubtedly be remade by Hollywood, and you could catch up with that version in a couple of years. But we reckon you should see it now — before they start rewriting it to make room for bedpan jokes, exploding 18-wheelers and Shia LaBeouf.

Genre: Action | Crime | Thriller
Age Restriction: TBC
Runtime: 84 min