Le Convoyeur

Le Convoyeur (Cash truck) is one of those "minimalist French thriller" that will keep you in the edge of the seat for the entire movie. What the movie lacks in budget terms is compensated with the superb (and intense) acting for its main characters, especially Albert Dupontel (IRREVERSIBLE), a character you will not forget very soon.

Alexander, a really strange and disturbed man, starts working as a security guard for an armored trunk company. The universe surrounding him is truly unbelievable; just because is real.

We meet a bunch of lazy losers, which could be categorized as drug addicts, drunks, depressed, inept or nuts, and Alexander fits in all of them. To make matters more interesting; all of them are carrying guns with minimum training (one shoot a month) and earn a thousand Euros (about $ 1300) a month for transporting millions in cash.

It is easy to predict that under these circumstances, things could go REALLY WRONG.

After a while, we also realize that Alexander has his own agenda. He inquires about routes and events randomly. He even searches his co-workers lockers.

Without giving out more, lets say that Nicolas Boukhrief (the director) constructs an environment very unreliable in itself and adds another explosive element to the cocktail.

The big difference with any American thriller is that characters and drama are more important than action and violence. When the violence arrives, it shocks us without using spectacular special effects or big budget explosions.

In brief, do not get fooled by the lack of big American actors or just because it is a French movie. This is probably the most terrifying movie of the year; and does not have ghosts, zombies or serial killers.

It's no wonder Guy Ritchie was attracted to this story, and liked it enough to remake the film, Hollywood style. Le Convoyeur is the better film, although Wrath of God is admirable as a thriller in its own right. Le Convoyeur has better character development, and doesn't have distractive subplots involving the robbery gang. I don't want to spoil anything, so give it a watch, and judge for yourself.

It is one of the rarest movies ever made about employees of armored cars companies.

The director Nicolas Boukrief told, when his film was released, that it has never been made before. It's a lie when you know that the same Nicolas Boukrief was a journalist for the magazine Starfix in the 80's, and he commented himself "Money movers", released in Paris in 1986.

"Money movers" was a feature directed by Bruce Beresford, shot in 1979, and the context was the same, a thriller about armored car companies from the inside. But the Beresford's movie was not exactly the same story as the "Convoyeur", let's be fair.

I do not say that Boukrief made a plagiary. But when he told every one that he was the first to shot a movie about money movers, he lies. No excuse for that. Threre is no harm to be influenced. The remake of "Criss cross", shot in 1995, - I don't remember the title, sorry - and directed by Steven Sonderbbergh was also about money movers, but not in the same way.

Anyway, I love this picture. A pretty good one and violent too.

But, in the real life, money movers are not all alcoholic, drug dealers or silly as they are shown in "Le Convoyeur". I know myself some Brink's employees. All of them did not appreciate this film for these reasons.

No commentator so far has referred to the opening of the film where Demarre and his son find themselves unwitting witnesses of a robbery and one of the 'braquers' apparently shoots Demarre and his son point-blank, though Demarre re-appears later (How much later?) alive and unharmed to join Vigilante. That's not the only unexplained event. Who was the silent woman with him on the park (Nursing home?) bench? His wife, lover? And the phone-caller who had somehow found his number? Why was he so adamant about not having his hotel room cleaned?

Leaving his overall motivation open to conjecture gave an added interest to the plot, but things left unexplained without the slightest clue as to their significance in the story are merely irritating.

Dupontel is tremendous. He has enormous presence and the rest of the cast, camera work, production and of course, direction, superb.

Better writing and acting than cash truck but wrath of man was probably better as an action movie. Still i'd recommend this first. The ending is much better.