La terre et le sang

No pun intended. And maybe if the lead character wasn't so charismatic, the movie would not have struck as much with me as it did. So I see everyone voting lower and I understand. This is not a great thriller, it is more than decent though and even if there are cliches being served, we get suspense and edge of the seat entertainment.

It does what it says on the box and the last third of the movie is quite the payout for what we saw before that and all the silence or rather slow moving story for the most part. Violence is not always the solution, but this is a movie and it does what it has to - or rather our main man does. Is it enough though?

Decent viewing if you just want to switch off your brain, but 'Earth and Blood' isn't anything good.

It's just so underdeveloped, there is little to no reason to care for any of the characters onscreen. We get pieces of backstory with a few of the protagonists, though the antagonists are completely plain and lack any creativity. I was never invested in this, unfortunately.

Sami Bouajila is, at least, good in the lead role. I've now seen three French language films and he has been in two of them; following on from the also underwhelming 'The Crew' from 2015, which is directed by Julien Leclercq too. I do like Bouajila. No-one else stands out, though I did enjoy Sofia Lesaffre as Sarah.

It has a few decent deaths, a solid lead and a couple of nice shots - though they could've used the Sawmill location to greater effect. However, disappointingly, it's a poor film all in all. It's a positive that it only runs for 80 minutes, but a bit longer could've helped it create some depth to the onscreen lot.

"La Terre et le Sang" is a pitch-black actioner mixed with quite an interesting crime drama, though with its flaws not hidden. The movie structures the plot in the relationship between a father and his daughter against the backdrop of rural France, adding some depth that does work. Even if the cinematography and scoring are brilliant, real tension and atmosphere are brought into the movie, but more than once, the storyline stumbles due to predictable turns of events and characters that sound shallow. The pacing also becomes uneven in places, dragging on in certain bits and rushing through others. All things considered, "La Terre et le Sang" does present an engaging watch with an involving premise, though it might leave some viewers wishing for more polish in its execution.

I don't know why the rating (5) is so low. And I'm not sure why people complain it's dark. Maybe the dubbed Netflix version is, but I saw the original French-language one so maybe something was lost in the dubbing? To me, the weakest part was the acting, or should I say, over-acting of the daughter. Then again, she is deaf and all that crazy nonsense was going on around her. I suppose if I was deaf I'd be a freaked out mess, too. Yeah, there were some implausible decisions made, but the film wasn't slow-paced like others have stated. In fact, it moved along at a nice brisk pace. Recommended.

This a very good movie, with it's tense moments and some bloody scenes.

Acting is good, setting in the old sawmill is perfect for the story and is used very well.

Relax and see it on Netflix when you are into thriller, action movies.