Feux rouges (2004)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Cédric Kahn

Writers:

Georges Simenon (novel) and
Laurence Ferreira Barbosa (writer)

Release Date:

3 March 2004 (Belgium)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Always keep your eyes on the road

Plot:

Antoine and Helene drive to South France to return their kids from a holiday camp. The traffic is dense...

Plot Keywords:

Night | Killing | On The Road | Drunk Driver | Highway

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Jean-Pierre Darroussin	...	Antoine
Carole Bouquet	...	Hélène
Vincent Deniard	...	L'homme en cavale / Man on the Run
Alain Dion	...	Le collègue de bureau
Olivier Fornara	...	Le serveur de la brasserie
Damien Givelet	...	Le présentateur des actualités (on tv)
Philippe Ivancic	...	Le serveur quartier Antoine
Candide Joseph	...	La femme accidentée
Brigitte Pain	...	La serveuse du bar routier
Igor Skreblin	...	Le Croate au téléphone / Man Yelling into Phone
Fabrice Robert	...	Le barman du Nirvana
Micky Finn	...	Le Rocker Irlandais / Irish Rock Musician
Moussa Boucetta	...	L'employé gare de Tours
Thomas Germaine	...	Le gendarme du 1er barrage
Patrick Servoin	...	Le chef de Gare de Ste Maure

Also Known As:

Red Lights (International: English title) (USA) (literal English title)

Runtime:

France:105 min | USA:105 min | Argentina:106 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Australia:M | Singapore:PG | France:U (with warning) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:Unrated | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

Alicéléo

Goofs:

Continuity: The tiny hole in the forward facing side of the center rear view mirror (sensor for automatic headlight dimmer?) is on the passenger's side early in the film. In the last scene it's on the driver's side.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 20th IFP Independent Spirit Awards (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Hurricane Heart Attack

Into the night

"Red Lights" is an unsettling depiction of a middle-aged man's unconscious quest to find a deeper sense of selfhood via descent into a nocturnal underworld. The man in question, Antoine (Jean-Pierre Darroussin), is a Parisian insurance agent who has reached crisis point in his relationship both with himself and his high-achieving lawyer wife Helene (Carole Bouquet). A car journey to Bourdeaux to pick up their two young children from summer camp rapidly turns into a nightmare as Antoine recklessly embarks on a drinking binge. Loosened up by alcohol, he proceeds to unleash his pent up frustration onto Helene. Unsurprisingly, Helene is not going to stand for this for long and she opts out of the road journey at an early stage, choosing to take the train instead. Meanwhile, as the marital crisis erupts, radio reports bring news of a dangerous escaped convict at large in the vicinity...

Based on a novel by that prolific 20th Century master of the psychological thriller, Georges Simenon (peerless in the art of representing bourgeois male pathology), Cedric Kahn has fashioned a handsome and compelling movie which credibly portrays the many different shades of its lead character's rage and paranoia while maintaining steady levels of increasing suspense, even beyond the violent crescendo which occurs roughly two thirds of the way through. The mood changes somewhat as the shaken Antoine emerges from his nocturnal adventure into a new dawn, but further uncertainties and revelations keep the viewer gripped until the credits.

Kahn has astutely remarked on the thematic similarities between this film and Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut", a movie which asks not dissimilar questions of its male protagonist and which likewise involves him in a descent into a dangerous night of wish fulfilment. Like Tom Cruise, Darrousin pursues his fantasies, fuelled by rage and a deep sense of disconnection from his spouse, only to be confronted with hitherto dormant aspects of his psyche which threaten to destabilise and undermine everything that he holds dear. Viewers who dislike the Kubrick movie should not, however, be deterred from giving this one a go. Thematic elements apart, it's a very different beast.

Darroussin sustains his basically unlikeable character in bravura manner through a succession of alcohol-induced mental states and mood swings, and the viewer ends up thoroughly involved in his plight even though his self-destructive behaviour simultaneously serves to create a distance from the audience. Bouquet meanwhile is as classy and beautiful as ever in what is essentially a supporting role.

Judicious use of music by Claude Debussy heightens the atmosphere, and as photographed by Patrick Blossier, "Feux Rouges" looks great both by night and by day.