They Came Back

Leave it to the French to make a philosophical zombie movie: Robin Campillo, who has previously edited some excellent films (Human Resources, Time Out), makes his directorial debut with this existential angst piece in which those who've died over the past 10 years somehow arise from their graves. Not remotely like George Romero's zombies (i.e., bloodthirsty creatures hungry for human brains), these undead--dressed mostly in pastel leisure clothes--simply amble quietly back to the land of the living to rejoin their families and resume their jobs. The focus of the film is on how the wider society reacts as the eerily subdued returnees try to assimilate, with most of the attention given to an older man and his wife, a young woman and her husband, and a couple and their child (think of The 4400 without the outer-space abductions). What They Came Back is really about, however, is the process of grief and the difficulty of letting go. Unfortunately, despite being nicely photographed (with a creamy, soft-toned texture), the film moves languidly (the living are barely more animated than the nonliving) and in the end delivers little. An optional purchase. (F. Swietek)