Triple Agent
Picture: C+
Sound: C Extras: C Film: C
No French director has the knack for putting me to sleep
more than Eric Rohmer, so when I saw he had directed a “thriller” called Triple
Agent in 2004, I thought it might be something different. Instead, he manages to take what he deems a
complex story and with newsreel footage to boot, make the tale of a married man
lying to everyone about his spying work a melodramatic bore. You hope he gets caught and they all kill
each other so the film will end.
If he thinks this is intellectual, he can forget it. Instead, it just drags on and on and on and
on and on. This type of story is never
supposed to be this boring, but he manages to once again defy low
expectations. Only fans should see this. If he thought he was making the anti-Spy Spy
film, he would be clueless there too.
The 1.33 X 1 image is not awful as shot by cinematographer
Diane Baratier, but it is too bad this was not an anamorphically enhanced
transfer. It can be zoomed in to for 16
X 9/1.78 X 1 playback, though but detail and depth are lacking. The Dolby Digital 2.0 is worse, in very
simple stereo, despite being a Dolby theatrical release. Extras include the original French trailer
and a featurette on the Miller-Skobline Case.
This runs 38:50 and is much more informative than the film, as if he
forgot these facts when he started shooting and did a melodrama. Yawn!
- Nicholas Sheffo
