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?

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Plot Keywords:

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

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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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

Ads on billboards in the background were created by famous Italian photographer Oliviero Toscani, a friend of the director.

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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.

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Quotes

Gérard Hutchinson: Vous savez, au bout de cinq ans de chômage on est devenu... non, comment on dit en français?
Bruno Davert: Has-been.
Gérard Hutchinson: Ah oui, voilà, has-been.

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Connections

Version of A Shock to the System (1990)

User Reviews

A Sarcastic View of the Effects of Downsizing

The thirty-nine years old executive Bruno Davert (José Garcia) has been working for fifteen years in a paper company. After a merging operation with a Romania's company, he is fired in a downsizing. While unemployed for two years, Bruno loses his self-esteem and sanity and his family loses the middle-class lifestyle without cable television, Internet and regular consumption. He concludes that there is too much competition in his sector for a few job positions and decides to literally eliminate his competitors, killing those more qualified than him.

"Le Couperet" is a sarcastic view of the greed of the companies and the effects of downsizing in the self-esteem and sanity of a man. The awareness of the economical situation in France (but could be in most of the nations) and black-humor of Costas-Gravas gives a fantastic satire to the greed of the corporations, aiming exclusively profits without any care for the human beings. The sub-employment, as means of survival; the exacerbated use of merchandising to force the consumption; the situation of the family, being emotionally shattered with the stressful situation of the husband and father; all of these elements are ironically presented in this tough and realistic social satire through a French middle-class family. José Garcia is stunning in the role of a bitter man fighting to find job position and serial killer. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "O Corte" ("The Cut")