Anthony Zimmer

The police are hunting a money launderer nobody has ever seen: Anthony Zimmer. He has completely altered his face and no one can identify him. There is one link left: his lover Chiara. Knowing she is being watched, she picks a man at random on a train to mislead her followers. The man she picks is an ordinary translator. The subject is not the chase but identity being transferable. Everyone takes the translator for Zimmer and he becomes, in an instant, a man wanted by both the police and the mob; the explanation at the end inverts that assumption. The form is sleek and fast: a train, the coast at Nice, hotels. The running time is kept short and the narrative never stops. It is Jérôme Salle's first feature. The rights were bought by Hollywood soon after and it was remade in 2010 as The Tourist with Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie; that version had a far larger budget and was received far worse. Sophie Marceau plays Chiara and Yvan Attal the translator. Who it is for: viewers who like twisting French thrillers and short, clean plotting. Who it is not for: anyone who will find the last-minute explanation too easy; looking back, the narrative loosens in a few places.