Brief Crossing

Catherine Breillat has made a career out of being provocative in directing sexually explicit films such as Romance, but while Brief Crossing is not without its sticky wickets it nonetheless provides happy evidence that she is capable of toning down the harsh shock value in favor of a challenging cerebral exercise. Virtually a two-person chamber piece set aboard an overnight ferry crossing the English channel from Cherbourg to Portsmouth, the film focuses on a pair of travelers--a 16-year-old French boy (Gilles Guillain) and a thirtysomething British woman (Sarah Pratt)--who initially kill time by engaging in a casual conversation. While the differences between them are many, their conversation soon develops into deep and unexpected riffs on life, love, sex, and perceptions between generations, and though we suspect that the palaver will inevitably lead to some sort of seduction, the question of which person is in control of the game remains intriguing right up to the surprising conclusion. Breillat's diehard fans may feel cheated that her trademark edginess has been abandoned in favor of a Rohmer-style celebration of language, but it's to the credit of the filmmaker and her talented actors that this tight, stimulating battle of wits plays with such dexterity and force. Brief Crossing is an intelligent work in which words, gestures, glances, and pauses carry far more power than explosion-laden special effects. Highly recommended. (P. Hall)