Les paumées du petit matin

At one time this was one of Jean Rollin's lost films, but in the age of DVD/Blu-ray its becoming a thing of the past. So is it worth the lime-light(?)... for me, it's a no. That's not implying its awful, just strictly mundane and forgettable low-budget drama.

There's really nothing there, outside a couple of brief moments highlighting Rollin's signature touches (two young women, erotic lesbianism and haunting tragedy). It just lacked those surreal images or better put dream-like quality, instead favouring a glum, down-to- earth reality to tell a tale about the journey of a pair of runaways from an insane asylum. The journey doesn't really add up to much, as it meanders and falls on the repetitiveness with its talkative nature. Because visually it's not striking enough, the plot less nature is found out by being bogged down and it slowly moves from one scenario to another with little conviction. Although the last 10 minutes or so, is where Rollin shines (outside the intro and ice-skating ring scene).

Laurence Dubas and Christiane Coppé are quite good as the two runaways. Watching their neurotic relationship develop made the ending much more effective. Also showing up in a minor bit part is Rollin's regular Brigitte Lahaie.

"The Escapees" is nothing more, nothing less then a curio.

It is surprising that this Jean Rollin film has no vampires, or cemetery and candelabra or even a gothic building and instead at the start a couple of young girls in an asylum. One is in the garden and a rocking chair creaking forlornly. Then she speaks for the first time and helps the other escape. There is a poetical way that the girls just appear with a gypsy like crew with exotic dancers and weird rowdy drinkers with a lovely stage with a junkyard filled with rubbish and a train that thunders through. The surreal scenes go to other ones without really any reason. Seemingly an ice rink appears after an odd place in an underground bar, a costume appears and she dances with a spotlight as if in magic. More with a big ship and other people liking to dance and in the end would seem to be a couple of swingers and from no were guns appear and suddenly there is flesh and death.

The Escapees is one of Jean Rollin's most obscure films. As I watched it I couldn't help but wonder just who this movie exactly was aimed at. It's a wilfully uncommercial film, even by Rollin's standards. And while I am for the most part a fan of the director's oeuvre I can't say I enjoyed this one very much at all. The main problem is it's so mundane and lacking in the otherworldly feel that is typical of the director's best work and is grounded too much in reality. While the basic idea of a couple of young melancholic girls on the run encountering a series of unusual events is textbook Rollin, the movie has none of the fantastique element to feed off. I've heard that this was a result of producers trying to impose certain restrictions on Rollin, and ensuring he did not make another of his idiosyncratic vampire movies. They wanted a more sell-able product but ironically ended up with an even less commercial film than the director would normally turn out. It's really not difficult to see why this became a lost film and effectively sank without a trace.

There are occasional moments that have the director's fingerprints all over them. Such as the scene in the ice rink at night. This memorable moment incorporates the poetic and slightly surreal imagery that Rollin is most loved for. Unfortunately, The Escapees rarely has any other sequences that approach this. Its fairly plot-less story just meanders from one low key scene to another with very little over all purpose. It doesn't feel like the director's heart is in this project and it isn't ultimately a lot of fun.

Michelle and Marie (Laurence Dubas and Christiane Coppe) escape from a mental institution. While Michelle is strong and determined to get away, Marie is more emotional and grows very attached to Michelle.

Their journey leads them to a traveling troupe of performance artists (aka: strippers). When they join the group, Michelle desires thrills, excitement, and male companionship. Poor Marie only wants to be with Michelle. Forever.

When the pair hook up with a thief named Sophie (Marianne Valiot), they seem to have found peace at last. Alas, Marie's true insanity comes into play.

This is another adult fantasy film from Director Jean Rollin. Filled with odd characters and bizarre situations, THE ESCAPEES is, at its heart, a love story. There's far less nudity -at least until the finale- than in most Rollin projects. The plot is also more straightforward, less surreal.

Rollin drastically retrains his penchant for absurdity here! This does allow for some stretches of dullness, including the long-long-LONG goodbye sequence near the end! Fortunately, Marie's anthropophobia saves the day!

The denouement is pure, bloody Rollin...

Marie and Michelle are escaping from a lunatic asylum. Michelle is a tough girl who knows how to survive on the road, but the extremely shy Marie desperately clings to her until Michelle gives in and promises help. The two get into a lot of trouble which puts their friendship to a test.

Rollin's lost movie, and lost for a good reason, as the director told in several interviews (one on the British DVD, for example): it was simply so poor no distributor bought it. The director blames this mostly on the scriptwriter. The producer had hired someone to keep the director from continuing with his usual vampire mystery stuff, and that kind of co-operation against each other couldn't work. However, "The Escapees" has enough magic moments to be worth watching. Especially when people stop talking such as in the ending, or when Marie skates on the ice, imagining she is admired by a crowd, but only Michelle is secretly watching her.