It is inevitable that when thousands of films are made that some resemble each other in more than one facet, even though they were filmed on different continents, in different languages, with different casts and in different genres. Certain types of stories or characters are told so often that they become like genres unto themselves. “Stranger comes to a small town” is an old, widely used, staple with a wide range of uses in all kinds of genres. These things become interesting – to me, at least – when even a pretty narrow form of story is told several times with very differing results.
It was unsought that over a period of three months I saw three films where the main character was a meticulous yet emotionally (perhaps even psychologically) stunted man drawn into robbery. Although I’m unsure what to call the genre or staple – if it can be called even that – the many similarities between the films make me wonder what exactly inspired them.
The first one was Le Convoyeur (Cash Truck, 2004), a French action thriller by Nicolas Boukhrief, I was initially drawn to as it’s set to be remade as a starring vehicle for Eric Bana. IMDb sums up the premise pretty well.
“In France, the disturbed and mysterious Alexandre Demarre is hired as security guard for the Vigilante armored truck company earning 1,200 euros per month and lodges in a hotel nearby the company for 1,450 euros for a month. He becomes close to his colleagues, actually a group of losers, without motivation or perspective, paranoids, depressed and substance addicted men, and prepares a personal file with the profile of each one. Along the way the real intentions of Alex working at Vigilante are disclosed.”
The premise doesn’t mention that at the outset it’s explained that several armored car companies have been robbed in the previous months and that Demarre seems to suffer from some form of epilepsy.
It’s a dark and bleak film in more than subject matter and characters, filmed in mostly greys and blues. At times this hardcore view of the world goes too far and comes close to parody. While the other guards aren’t what anyone would deem stable, Demarre (intensely played by Albert Dupontel, also a director), though he doesn’t say much, is so obviously unstable, with the big, unblinking eyes of a bug, that anyone trusting, much less liking him, stretches credibility.
All in all it’s a good film, though. Dupontel is oddly engaging and finding out the motivation behind Demarre’s actions is the mystery that drives the film forward to its (very bloody) climax.
El Aura (The Aura, 2005) was the second yet sadly last film from Fabián Bielinsky, the Argentinian director who debuted with the inventive conman heist flick Nueve Reinas (Nine Queens, later remade as the inferior Criminal with John C. Reilly). Bielinsky died 47 years old of a heart attack while out promoting this film.
In the lead once again this time is Ricardo Darin, as the taxidermist Esteban Espinoza. He is another sad loner, who makes great plans but has trouble connecting with people, nearly always looking away from the people he talks to, when he does make eye contact you see the fear and panic in his eyes. He also, curiously, also appears to suffer from epilepsy. In one of the film’s first scenes he explains to his colleague Sontag how he would go about robbing the bank they are visiting, and Sontag derides him for never being able to do it.
Sontag invites him to go hunting with him up in the mountains and there in the deep pine forests of Argentina a series of events lead Esteban to devise a proper robbery.
Like Nine Queens the film has plenty of unexpected twists and turns in its plot, but it is another kind of beast altogether. Unlike Nine Queens, few things are explained outright and, as the beginning hints, few plans correspond with reality. Here the pace is somber and there’s a much thicker atmosphere to it. The film is not about trust but distrust, especially of Esteban, who (unlike Demarre) no one appears to like.
The main character’s epilepsy serves here as more than plot device. The ‘Aura’ of the title is the brief calm moment before Esteban’s epilepsy sets in, where he knows what will happen yet is unable to stop the chaos. It is a tragedy that Bielinsky died so early into his career as a filmmaker. This film shows a director really getting into his craft, willing to question his earlier work and still add more elements to his repertoire.
Bareuge Salja (Going By the Book, 2007) is a Korean comedy written by Jin Jang, who wrote the hugely succesful Welcome to Dongmakgol, and the directing debut of his former assistant Hee-Chan Ra.
Jung Do-Man (played by Jung Jae-Young from Welcome to Dongmakgol) is a traffic cop with an Asperger’s-like dedication to following correct procedure. When the new police chief (Byeong-ho Son) of the small town arrives his first greeting is Do-Man giving him a ticket for traffic violation.
The town has been plagued by a series of bank robberies and the new chief, in an effort to boost morale, decides to issue an official exercise where a random bank will be selected to be robbed by a police officer pretending to be a criminal. This in order to test police response and show the media and the public that efforts are being made. Everyone is given a part to play in the exercise and the chief selects (for reasons that are interesting to guess at) Do-Man to be the robber. Do-Man, while reluctant, dedicates himself to playing a bank robber far beyond anyone’s expectations.
The film was a solid hit in its home country. While it’s not a broad laugh riot, the film has its own quirky charm and several quite clever ideas, as the fake robbery becomes a sort of meta commentary on all bank heist films. The offbeat humor from Do-Man’s odd, yet logical, actions keep one’s attention throughout, as the chief struggles to outwit him before the media attention gets out of control.
While the film at times has some difficulty handling the tone of comedy and a subplot involving mayoral corruption creates something of a detour, Jae-Young as Do-Man makes the film with his blank, open-mouthed, stare.
While I liked it, it’s still a bit thin and is a film that could actually benefit from an American remake. The right director, with a feeling for genre and idiosyncrasy, such as Wes Anderson, could probably give the film a lot more vibe, pace and feeling.
All three main characters are driven as if somehow obligated, to atone for their former wrongs, though they in each case are, to the objective viewer, relatively innocent. Each of them is thrown into an environment they are entirely unfamiliar with. In all three films the robbery comes to symbolize the potential for some form of release for them, and in different respects, their closed-off emotions.
There is also in each of the three films a woman who somehow finds something appealing with these more or less socially bankrupt individuals. Interestingly enough it is probably because the men symbolize some form of release for the women, able to rescue them from their oppressive surroundings. The dull knight in his closed-off emotional armor.
Nonetheless, despite their many similarities, the conclusions drawn by the filmmakers regarding their fate is vastly different for the three of them.
Gone Elsewhere 