The Ax (2005)

A chemist (Garcia) loses his job to outsourcing. Two years later and still jobless, he hits on a solution: to genuinely eliminate his competition.

Director:

Costa-Gavras

Writers:

Donald E. Westlake (novel), Costa-Gavras (screenplay)

Stars:

José Garcia, Karin Viard, Geordy Monfils

1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
José Garcia	...	Bruno Davert
Karin Viard	...	Marlène Davert
Geordy Monfils	...	Maxime Davert
Christa Théret	...	Betty Davert
Ulrich Tukur	...	Gérard Hutchinson
Olivier Gourmet	...	Raymond Machefer
Yvon Back	...	Etienne Barnet
Thierry Hancisse	...	Inspecteur Kesler
Olga Grumberg	...	Iris Thompson
Yolande Moreau	...	Préposée poste
Dieudonné Kabongo	...	Quinlan Longus (as Dieudonné Kabongo Bashila)
Jean-Pierre Gos	...	Garagiste
Vanessa Larré	...	Prédatrice
Serge Larivière	...	Inspecteur Police
Jeanne Savary	...	La présentatrice TV

Storyline

Bruno Davert, a chemist working for a paper company, is fired. After three years he's still unemployed, too much competition for the few job position he could fit in his sector. He sent tons of resumes, he attended many qualifying courses, he tried everything but there is nothing to do: no job for him in the industry. The only healthy company in the sector is "Arcadia", but joining it is just an impossible dream. At this point Bruno is desperate. What he could do: to kill all the competitors? Could he?

---

Plot Keywords:

competition | outsourcing | contestant elimination | unemployment | son in jail | 

---

Taglines:

Some people would die to get (him) this job. [Scandinavian DVD.]

---

Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Belgium France Spain

Language:

French Dutch

Release Date:

2 March 2005 (France)

Also Known As:

The Ax

Filming Locations:

Boulevard Piercot, Liège, Liège Province, Belgium

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$1,428,352 (France), 4 March 2005

Company Credits

Production Co:

K.G. Productions,StudioCanal,France 2 Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Visa d'exploitation en France: #110116

---

Goofs

At the beginning, when Davert (Garcia) gets out of the shower and then immediately returns to the bathroom to vomit, you can see in the mirror that he is wearing an underwear.

---

Quotes

Gérard Hutchinson: [When the interviewer abruptly ends the interview] I said to myself, lucky I didn't have the gun on me.

---

Connections

References Taking Lives (2004)

User Reviews

THE movie to summarize this years

Bruno DAVERT (Jose Garcia) is locked-out for economic reasons. To find a new job, his method is simple : kill the other candidates. His behaviour changes, and his wife Marlène(Karin Viard) feels Bruno moving away from the family, from herself and from the true life.

Costa-Gavras shows as the unemployment can make a man crazy.

A perfect look on the stupidity of our society when a man is only the money he can earn. Costa-Gavras show us the vacuum we are running to, destroying everything to obtain what ?

Probably the best political movie of the ten last years. Garcia is excellent, probably because he does not know he his good. K. Viard change her usual energy in distress, her performance is excellent. Everybody is good.

Run to this movie. It shows you your future