The Intruder (2004)
"L'intrus" (original title)

Louis Trebor, a man nearing 70, lives alone with dogs in the forest near the French-Swiss border. He has heart problems, seeks a transplant, and then goes in search of a son sired years ... See full summary »

Director:

Claire Denis

Writers:

Claire Denis, Jean-Pol Fargeau,

Stars:

Michel Subor, Grégoire Colin, Yekaterina Golubeva

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Michel Subor	...	Louis Trebor
Grégoire Colin	...	Sidney
Yekaterina Golubeva	...	La jeune femme russe (as Katia Golubeva)
Bambou	...	La pharmacienne
Florence Loiret Caille	...	Antoinette (as Florence Loiret-Caille)
Lolita Chammah	...	La sauvageonne
Alex Descas	...	Le prêtre
Dong-ho Kim	...	Le propriétaire du bateau
Se-tak Chang	...	L'associé du propriétaire du bateau
Hong-suk Park	...	L'homme du marché aux poissons
Edwin Alin	...	Le patron de la quincaillerie
Henri Tetainanuarii	...	Henri
Jean-Marc Teriipaia	...	Tony
Anna Tetuaveroa	...	La mère
Béatrice Dalle	...	La reine de l'hémisphère nord

Storyline

Louis Trebor, a man nearing 70, lives alone with dogs in the forest near the French-Swiss border. He has heart problems, seeks a transplant, and then goes in search of a son sired years before in Tahiti. Told elliptically, with few words, we see Louis as possibly heartless, ignoring a son who lives nearby who is himself an attentive father to two young children, one named for Louis. He leaves his bed one night - and his lover - to kill an intruder; he dreams, usually of violence. Will his body accept his heart? Will his son accept his offer?

---

Plot Keywords:

heart | french swiss border | forest | dog | intruder | 

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French English Korean Russian

Release Date:

4 May 2005 (France)

Also Known As:

The Intruder

Filming Locations:

Japan

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$4,640 (USA) (23 December 2005)

Gross:

$40,603 (USA) (21 April 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ognon Pictures, arte France Cinéma, Conseil Régional de Franche-Comté

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Edited from Le reflux (1965)

User Reviews

movies, dreams and dirt

Two things haunt you throughout L'intrus (The Intruder): who's the intruder and is it a movie or a dream you're watching? The ending is so shocking that for a while you're at a loss for an answer to either of those questions. The intruder pops up as different characters, different men in different circumstances who don't belong in the scene, so they're expelled from it, kindly or brutally, but often without emotional involvement. The main character, Louis, is a contemptible man. He's got rough ways, some mean job and no heart. He needs one and goes after it. He has a heart transplanted and afterwards decides to start a new life. Can this man succeed in his quest for redemption? A guy like that could cut your throat at the drop of a hat. You know it but Claire Denis doesn't encourage you to judge him. Occasionally, there's a young Russian woman -a beautiful girl who seems to inhabit someplace between heaven and earth - who does judge him. She may even punish him. But not Denis. There's the character played by Beatrice Dalle who wants no business with him: don't touch me, she says. But Denis lets this man be himself, films him in his self-absorbed quest. I don't know if what she films is the heart or the mind but it isn't the traditional plot basics. Whatever she films, you get it in the end. You know who's "the" intruder, you know why, more or less, and some scenes come back to your mind with their full meaning. But was it a movie or a dream?