Claire Denis' elliptical drama L'Intrus was inspired by a short book written by philosopher Jean-Luc Nancy about his heart transplant. In the film, Michel Subor (Le Petit Soldat) stars as Louis, who lives fairly self-sufficiently in a small cabin in the snowy wilds near the Swiss border. Louis has a son (Grégoire Colin, who also starred with Subor in the director's Beau Travail) whose wife (Florence Loiret-Caille) is a border guard, and they have two young children, but Louis has a strained
relationship with his family. He lives a hard, stoic life out in the cold. Mysterious strangers cross the border at all hours of the day and night, and Louis vigilantly -- sometimes violently -- protects his homestead. It soon comes to pass that he needs a heart transplant. Louis quickly and quietly makes some arrangements, and travels to Pusan for the operation. He makes the demand that he be given a young man's heart, and not a woman's. His health still failing, Louis then travels to Tahiti, hoping for a final reunion with another son, whom he abandoned years before. The footage of the young Subor in Tahiti was taken from an uncompleted adaptation of a Robert Louis Stevenson story directed by Paul Gégauff. L'Intrus also stars Béatrice Dalle, Katia Golubeva, and Alex Descas in smaller roles. The film was shown by the Film Society of Lincoln Center as part of 2005's Rendez-Vous With French Cinema. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi
An interior epic with epic exteriors, a film with very little dialogue, where the pictures (photographed by the great Agnès Godard), actors and the juxtaposition of both tell the story.
[S]hould you see The Intruder? Yes -- but only if you're willing to ignore bothersome concerns about narrative and let the poetic images take over your mind.
Characteristically impressionistic, French director Claire Denis' latest meditation is simultaneously baffling and beautiful, and definitely not for everyone.
This is self-consciously intricate, but even if the storyline occasionally confuses, it's impossible not to admire Agnès Godard's glorious photography and the atmospheric soundtrack.
Denis' film -- which may be her most intricately constructed and intensely beautiful to date -- is one that transcends words and stories, a movie to be felt rather than rationalized.
In "The Intruder", Louis(Michel Subor) enjoys spending his days frolicking with his dogs near the French-Swiss border while he spends his nights with a local woman. One night an intruder breaks in, but Louis kills him and quietly disposes of the body. This event along with his weakening health convince him that it is
time to move on... Directed by Claire Denis, "The Intruder" is a beautiful but opaque film. Early on, it is not even clear as to who the movie is supposed to be about, as a young border guard's family vies for attention. But the movie does eventually come into focus. Not giving any details about Louis' past mirrors the character's emotional detachment from the world around him.
March 29, 2007
Walter M.
Super Reviewer
An extremely murky script and cinematography together doom this picture. As for the acting? Well, there really isn't any. The players are only occasionally glimpsed in the darkness. Some critic here who describes L'Intrus as "Impressionistic" is clueless.
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