Killing Zoe (1993)

The cab driver sets American Zed up with Zoe in his Paris hotel. Despite FFR1000 charged, she's an art student with day jobs e.g. bank. Safecracker Zed meets his junkie friend after 11 years to rob a bank.

Director:

Roger Avary

Writer:

Roger Avary

Stars:

Eric Stoltz, Julie Delpy, Martin Raymond

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Eric Stoltz	...	Zed
Martin Raymond	...	Cab Driver
Eric Pascal Chaltiel	...	Bellboy
Julie Delpy	...	Zoe
Jean-Hugues Anglade	...	Eric
Gary Kemp	...	Oliver
Salvator Xuereb	...	Claude
Bruce Ramsay	...	Ricardo
Tai Thai	...	Francois
Kario Salem	...	Jean
Elise Renee	...	Patchoo (as Elise Renée)
Cecilia Peck	...	Martina
Ron Jeremy	...	Concierge (as Ron Jeremy Hyatt)
Gian-Carlo Scandiuzzi	...	Bank Manager (as Gian Carlo Scandiuzzi)
Gérard Bonn	...	Assistant Bank Manager (as Gerard Bonn)

Storyline

Zed has only just arrived in the beautiful Paris and already he's up to no good. Having just slept with a call girl, he spends a night on the town with his dangerous friends. They all decide to rob a bank the following day. There's only one problem: Zed's call-girl, Zoe, just happens to work at the bank which is to be robbed!

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Plot Keywords:

bank | call girl | kissing | sex scene | lust | 

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Taglines:

We go in. We get what we want. We come out.

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Genres:

Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence and language, plentiful drug use and a sex scene

Details

Country:

France USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

September 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Killing Zoe

Filming Locations:

Boulevard Saint-Michel, Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$30,586, 21 August 1994

Gross USA:

$418,961

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$418,961

Company Credits

Production Co:

Davis-Films, Live Entertainment, PFG Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min 99 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

After completing Killing Zoe, Roger Avary was asked what insight he'd gained from becoming a feature director. "You always see yourself in your work. You see yourself in scripts, in short stories, in poems, in super 8 film. And when I was making this movie, it was so big. It was bigger than anything I had ever done before. That big silver screen with real actors and sync sound and Tom Richmond's beautiful cinematography. It was so big that I started seeing all my good sides in it - and all my bad sides. It's a bit like therapy. That's when I realized what filmmaking was. It's really a journey of self discovery. I believe that every filmmaker - no matter how commercial he is, or how much an art house filmmaker they are - when they make their film, it's a little bit like what Werner Herzog does. The journey is the reward of making the film. What a filmmaker like Herzog will do is: he will walk to the edge of an abyss and stare into the blackness. And what you see when you stare into that inky pitch is your own face staring back at you. And it's terrifying. And it's debilitating. And it's enlightening. And it's horrible. And it's wonderful. And it's all emotions at once. And it's the most intense rush I can ever imagine. And it's what I dream about when I'm not making movies is to go through that again. As painful as it often is, it's fun."

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Goofs

In the Dixieland club, a clarinet can be clearly heard throughout, but there's no clarinetist in the band.

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Quotes

Zoe: We fit together.
Zed: All men and women fit together. Even some men fit together.

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Crazy Credits

The characters, events and institutions depicted in this motion picture are fictional. Any similarity to actual persons or junkies, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

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Alternate Versions

German TV-Version is cut for violence and is rated "not under 16"

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Connections

Referenced in The Rules of Attraction (2002)

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Soundtracks

Afrika
Written and Performed by Foula
Courtesy of Brooke Wentz

User Reviews

An overlooked bloody gem.

I love this movie. I just rented it again, and was not disappointed. Sure, it's bloody (Tarantino produced it) and nihilistic and all that, but it's also got a wonderful sense of anarchy that most films are afraid to commit too. As Emanuel Levy says in his book about independent cinema ("Cinema of Outsiders), "it promises to take off in unexpected directions but it's major distinction is it's gift for hysteria and pompous existentialism." It's all flash and blood and Julie Delphys breasts and guns and just a helluva lot of fun. Great out there performance by Jean-Hugues Anglade as the insane French bank robber and Eric Stoltz as the moral center (!?) of the madness. This film is even more fun when you've had a pint or two beforehand.