For his first feature film, Baptiste Debraux developed in the Ardennes which saw the birth of a semi-thriller film, semi-drama social, with a sacred casting. On the occasion of its release in physical format, let us take a closer look at this Leaking man whose plans bloom good wet peat and old cigarette.
Murders
Anna Werner (Léa Drucker) was entrusted with a case at the bottom of the Ardennes, more precisely in Rochebrune. An armored van was robbed and it appears to be Johnny (Pierre Lottin) which is at the origin of the blow. But this famous Johnny is not an unknown in this town that all businesses desert: he is at the root of the workers' grunt that sweeps the region from a wind of revolt. When this happens to his ears, Paul Ligre (Bastien Bouillon), a very close childhood friend, returns to Rochebrune. The patelin where nothing usually happens turns into a real firecracker...
For a first film, Baptiste Debraux You'll know where to go! Besides a rather tempting casting, he offers the very sight Fire! Chatterton as a group responsible for the musical composition of the feature film. A wise choice, because while music sometimes overwhelms the narrative and the image, it remains one of the great positive points ofA man on the run. A B.O. all in guitar and rock sounds, traversing a melodium on the piano (unaccorded), instantly instilling its atmosphere in the film.
Film from points of view(s)
The central catalyst of this Leaking manIt's obviously Johnny. The only one who – really, totally – decided: for his cause, he is ready to fire a town hall, rob a Carrefour Market, or even kill. Persona of the revolt playing Robin Hood, his flesh comes from the novelist. Stevenson's novelesque – quoted throughout the feature film in a spun metaphor – as much as Dumas's.
Yet, and this is one of the problems of the film, this character is very often perceived from a perfectly external point of view: his friend Paul, much more measured, the police officer guaranteeing order, Paul's parents... This multiplication of points of view desired by Baptiste Debraux certainly avoids any angelism, but above all drowns the entire discourse of the film. The powerful potential of the pamphlet on the state violence of the possessors on an unworked working class dilutes from plan to plan, loses as the film advances its substance, and it is not the few handfuls of final plans that will manage to straighten the bar. That's too bad. Radicality is a stiole. The movie's fading.
Worse, the actor game is part of this lack of flavor. Bastien Bouillon serves us his warm soup, Lottin draws his card from the game but does not avoid several frankly embarrassing scenes while the couple Anne Consigny/Philippe Frécon offer us the great hours of the declamation that falls flat... An obvious problem in the direction of actors – even if Léa Drucker and Marion Barbeau get out better – that definitely sinks A man on the run…
And yet...
So far, that's a lot of grievances. And the movie deserves them. Yet, there's something in this feature film. We feel the obvious influence of Night of the 12th : ce thriller au rythme plutôt lent, ce sujet de société (là la condition des femmes, ici celle des ouvriers) inséré dans une enquête policière, l’inscription dans une France profonde et rurale, et même le partage d’un membre du casting en la personne de Bastien Bouillon.
Et s’il n’en possède pas l’impact et qu’il s’alourdit de nombreux boitements, A man on the run se pare d’une atmosphère assez unique, qui à elle seule justifie le visionnage. Une atmosphère portée par la musique, couvée par les décors brumeux des Ardennes hivernales, par des choix de plans et de lumières embrassant le clair-obscur. On ne lui pardonne pas tout, mais A man on the run offre ce que l’on ne voit pas partout ailleurs. Et c’est déjà ça…
Pour en savoir plus sur ce 1er essai, un entretien passionnant avec le réalisateur Baptiste Debraux (21 min) est à découvrir dans les suppléments du DVD.
Data sheet
DVD Zone B (France)
Publisher: Blaq Out
Durée : 102 min
Release Date: September 17, 2024
Video format : 576p/25 - 2.39
Soundtrack : Français Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles French
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