Fresh Bait (L’ Appat)
Picture: C
Sound: C Extras: C+ Film: C+
Bertrand Tavernier used to be considered a formidable
political filmmaker, then the 1980s came and two films surfaced that signaled a
transition. Coup De Torchon
(1981) became this celebrated adaptation of a Jim Thompson novel, but this
critic was not as impressed. Round
Midnight (1986) was a stop in Hollywood that got critical acclaim, but his
stay there was brief. Fresh Bait
(1995) finds the famed director taking on the story of three young people (two
male, one female) who use terror and robbery to get money, but problems ensue
when they kill one of their victims.
The screenplay based on true events is co-adapted by the
director, but his constantly trite attempt to blame media and other incident
items and influences for their actions actually trivialized the seriousness of
the events in the film (and by association in real life) and is a shockingly
bad film as a result. I do not know what
he was thinking, though I wondered if we were going to get a “you Americans are
such pigs” lecture, but we don’t and have no Americans around to harass is
makes the film’s insinuations with little merit.
The young lady throws her sexuality around, while the men
get abusive, but no serious statement gets made about masculinity and these
characters are too giddy to take seriously later. The transition from giddy to Goodfellas never clicks and
the actors all seem out of their element, as the film sure does. Unlike Bully where we know of the crime
and are surprised by what transpires, Fresh Bait never hooks any fresh
ideas and will probably not hook most audience members. Like his more recent Safe Conduct
(2002, reviewed elsewhere on this site), he just cannot seem to go as far as he
needs to for his films to work. We’ll
look at more of his films ASAP to try and figure out why.
The letterboxed 1.78 X 1 image disappoints, though
cinematographer Alain Choquart again saves the film from being worse. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is better than
that of the weak 2.0 Stereo mix, but the surrounds even in the 5.1 tend to have
very limited surrounds. The combination
is odd and makes a problematic film more awkward. Extras include stills related to the film, the original trailer
for the film, a few trailers for other Koch Lorber films and an interview with
the three leads in letterboxed 16 X 9 video that runs 30:30. This is only for the very curious or those
who think all French films are brilliant.
- Nicholas Sheffo
