The Intruder

Filmmaker Claire Denis' The Intruder is an enigmatic, often disturbing, and ultimately astonishing drama about life, guilt, and redemption. Suffering from heart problems, 68-year-old Louis Trebor (Michel Subor, in an extraordinary performance) lives alone on the French-Swiss border in a log cabin with only two huskies as companions. One adult son lives nearby, but another son is long-absent for reasons that are not immediately evident. After a mysterious black market organ dealer secures a heart, Louis undergoes a transplant operation, and afterwards buys a yacht and sails for Tahiti in search of his estranged son…or does he? The film's narrative unwinds in an elliptical manner, so it's never entirely clear whether the action is really happening or if it is the dying fantasy of Louis' expiring mind. Denis keeps her audience guessing throughout the film, which often presents people, places, and things in a dreamlike manner. Kudos are also due to Agnes Godard for the cinematography, which brilliantly captures the contrasting topographies of the Alps and the Pacific tropics. A rich, original, mature masterwork, this is highly recommended. [Note: DVD extras include an interview with director Claire Denis. Bottom line: a small extras package for a fine film.] (P. Hall)