Fleeing the June 1940 arrival of Hitler's army in Paris, a pretty young war widow (Emmanuelle Béart) and her two children are rescued from dive-bombing German fighters by a cocky, reckless teenager (Gaspard Ulliel), and his instinct for survival quickly becomes the family's salvation in this drama of fugitive subsistence and uneasy camaraderie from French director André Téchiné (Alice et Martin). Beautiful, multifaceted Béart (whose character clings idealistically to the conventions of civilized society even as the world falls apart around her) and furtive, cunning Ulliel (who loots empty villages and displays dangerous volatility) make their unsteady trust the very essence of Strayed, while Téchiné navigates a minefield of expectations and seemingly contrived possible tragedies without the film ever becoming trite. But at some point the picture begins to derail. It could be when the family's vigilance drops, leaving them vulnerable to being inadvertently discovered by local police--or worse, by soldiers. Or it could be during a gratuitous, ill-fitting, highly unlikely sex scene. But the effect ripples through the rest of the picture and causes the story to lose its bearings, leading to an ending that drops off a narrative cliff. Optional. [Note: DVD extras include a subtitled interview with director Andre Téchiné and costar Gaspard Ulliel (19 min.), a subtitled interview with novelist Gilles Perrault (16 min.), cast and director filmographies, black and white and color photo galleries, two segments of storyboards, weblinks, and trailers. Bottom line: a small but solid extras package for an uneven film.] (R. Blackwelder)
Strayed
Wellspring, 95 min., in French w/English subtitles, not rated, VHS or DVD: $29.98, Nov. 23 Volume 20, Issue 1
Strayed
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