Die Wache!

If you are aware of the body of work the director has created, you probably don't need to read what I or others have to say. If you are not sure check the biography/filmography of the director. Anything familiar there? This right here may feel familiar but also almost feels "normal", especially considering this has a story that is quite coherent.

I say quite, because there are still a lot of things that are "weird" to put it mildly. You can't even begin to guess all the twists and turns, because we get treated with something unexpected from time to time. I personally love to be challenged like that. You have to know if that is your thing or not. If not, then I'd obviously advice you not to watch this. It would be a waste of time for you and a bad review for the movie obviously.

When I see Benoit Poelvoorde's name on a movie, I always watch. He's become the new Pierre Richard, if you remember The Blond Man With a Brown Shoe from the 70's. Only thing, Poelvoorde is much tougher than the benign Richard. Watching him can be a little exhausting.

Whatever, here we have a surrealist caper masquerading as a police procedural. I think Dupieux must have been influenced by Bunuel and by Argento, for the surreal aspects and the violence. What happens to Philippe in the office has to be seen to be believed (it involves a protractor). The acting is first rate, from Poelvoorde as the bullying detective and Gregoire Ludig as the harried suspect. There's a wonderful turn by Anais Demoustier as Philippe's girlfriend, constantly saying 'actually' to everyone's exasperation. I'll be looking out for more of Dupieux's work.

Director Quentin Dupreux's "Keep An Eye Out" is familiar territory from his other films, so I understand. I've only seen two-"Rubber," which I hated, and "Wrong," which I liked, but it had its flaws. But I do see the resemblance, as they are all weird and unpredictable. Which is not necessarily a bad thing. In the case of this film, I loved it...but ironically it was the twist at the end which was, I suppose, meant to explain the craziness of what we'd just seen but ruined it for me overall.

It's really difficult to synopsize this thing, because it's just so nuts. But basically, a man walks outside his building to buy bug spray and finds a dead guy. He calls the police and a detective interrogates him late at night in the police station. The man explains his story, all the while going back and forth in time having conversations with people who aren't there or who are dead. The man is certain he's innocent of the crime but his scattered state of mind even makes him question himself.

The acting is very good and I laughed frequently at the absurdity of what was happening and enjoyed the creativity. At only 85 minutes, it clipped along at a brisk pace and I was never bored. But it almost feels as if they got to a point where they just didn't know how to tie the ends together and end it. To some it may be brilliant or clever, but to me it was a disappointing cop out. Perhaps if the scene had wrapped quickly, but it went on too long, way past where we've already said, "No way!"

But, up until the last few minutes, I really liked this film, so I give it a 7.

Completely enjoyable bizarre and surreal dry humor. If you've never seen a Quentin Dupieux movie, I think this is a great starting point. Not too weird, not too meta. I personally was first introduced to him by the film "Rubber" which I loved the idea of even though everyone I met seemed to despise it. I have since seen "Wrong", "Wrong Cops" and "Reality", all of which I greatly enjoyed.

The fact that I liked those films is integral to this review. I am a fan of his work, and I loved this one. The reviews you read will vary from first timers to people who already didn't care for the style, and so you must see where you fit.

On surface this is somewhat of a dry humored murder mystery, with a touch of surreal, but the actors in the characters are so engaging that it really doesn't matter what they're talking about. For much of the movie they're talking about things that don't matter, practically nonsense, but it's enjoyable as a whole.

Definitely a fan of Quentin's ever since I saw Rubber. But I don't know French, and my eyes are getting old and hard to see subtitles now. And that's the BIGGEST problem with this movie, is that the majority takes place in this very bright police office. Much of the white subtitles are washed out by light, white paper on desks, white shirts. VERY hard for me to keep up with and understand whatever was going on. If there were slightly yellow or greyed subtitles, or placed on the ratio bars with a slight change to aspect ratio - or dare I say a 'English dub' version, I think this movie would be a lot better enjoyed and appreciated. As it stands now for us anglophones, it's more a mysterious mystery than a twisted comedy.