Appuntamento con l'assassino

Yeah, recently picked this up as a beta max. No expectations, have no idea what kind of movies were being made in France at this period in time. I usually throw it on and listen t it. The thing that got me, is that no matter how detailed and convoluted the subplot became, I didn't mind it cause the dialogue and delivery are so good. It's really weird. Mix in some random nudity, violence, and good stunts and makes for a good ride.

This stupid thing won't let me submit until I've reached the minimum amount of lines. Since when did I have to follow directions when expressing an opinion.

Shown on the Italian tv-channel Rai Uno the other day and with

actor names as J L Trintignant and C Deneuve featured in a Euro "giallo" from the seventies I naturally hooked up my vcr for taping. Dubbed in Italian language I ofcourse didn't understand a single spoken word, but several scenes are experimentally(!!) actionpacked and although it dosn't come near (or tries to be) a sleaze-movie, one cannot help comparing it to films like Night Train Murders( Aldo Lado), Spoorloos(Dutch film)and Mario Bava's Rabid Dogs in terms of associations, at least. Anyways...J L Trintignant's wife and daughter are raped/killed at the very beginning by a gang of viscious bikers. Then follows a lot of talky talk always accompanied by agressive behaviour by the charactors of the movie. I'm not quite sure where and why Miss Deneuve fits in, but she does a fine job looking sexy and mature and we even get a slight glimpse of her breasts. Guess that means this is an art-movie !!?? Trintignant gets his revenge at the end and a "drive-by" shooting of one of the bikers is indeed very well executed. A bikergirl is terrorrised by a guy(who befriends Trintignant + Deneuve),who turns out to be really creepy. His "hobby" is really perverse and adds the sleaze-associations to the film. As for the music, aahhh....??? Lemme know what You think, ok?? Overall I totally recommend it to fans of Euro films....You won't be disappointed I'm sure, but try catching an English languaged version, as I'm pretty sure I missed out on a whole lot of interesting talk....yep.

I have always confounded this thriller from France with another one of the same period: LES PASSAGERS, maybe because both star Jean Louis Trintignant in the role of an ordinary law abiding citizen who, during his motorway journey, encounters many problems with dangerous people. Both films evoke some social issues of this crime, related to self defense and vigilante elements. Serge Leroy could have made this film directed by Gerard Pirès, it was Serge Leroy's trade mark, or even Alain Jessua's too. Good effective French yarn from this period. Trintignant excellent in this kind of character. I recommend it. It is riveting. Especially Claude Brasseur's character, very surprising.

I have seen this twice, and only on television but found it haunting in the same way as The Vanishing, or Passager de la pluie - I just can't forget it. The revenge element is not so strong as the mystery, and of course the three leads are enthralling, convincing actors. One I would dearly love to see again because it stays in my memory like a tune you can't get out of your head.