Terroristit

It was long before the seventies and the disaster movies craze.Like "the set-up" and "Cléo de 5 à 7", it's a movie in "real time".The first hour takes place at an airport,the last third on a plane .

The political background is simplistic :two "revolutionaries" want to get rid of a South America dictator.The older(Pierre Fresnay) wants to put a bomb in the plane ,the younger (Michel Auclair)is an idealist to whom the death of fifty innocents (the other passengers) is unbearable. It's an action-packed screenplay ,not devoid of implausibilities -a bubblehead girl agrees to take a stranger's suitcase with her on the plane!and why does Fresnay try to kill Auclair when he does the "job" properly?-,but which manages to sustain interest.The passengers include the cardboard characters who will be the trademark of the disaster movies:the energetic air hostess,the smart little boy,the romantic naive girl.

Alex Joffé is a very minor director.I do not think he's kin to Roland (Joffé)but I might be wrong.If I was mistaken,please,users,do correct me.