The Prey

Franck Adrien is serving time for a bank robbery and will not tell anyone where the money is. His cellmate Jean-Louis Maurel is quiet, courteous and apparently innocent; on his release Franck asks him to pass word to his family. Then Franck learns something: Maurel is a wanted serial killer, and he is now with Franck's wife and daughter. Franck breaks out. Eric Valette directs. Albert Dupontel plays Franck, Stéphane Debac plays Maurel. The construction is unusual for French cinema: no psychology, no social frame, just an American style chase from end to end. Franck runs continuously and the film almost never stops. Dupontel supplies that physically. He did most of it himself, with stunt work kept to a minimum in the train, roof and construction sequences, and that choice was the most praised thing about it. He is also not a hero. He is a robber and a liar, and the policeman after him is right. The film does not try to change that and keeps you on the side of a guilty man. Hollywood bought the remake rights and the project never happened. Who it is for: viewers who like fast European thrillers and physical chase cinema. Who it is not for: the plot leans on coincidence and the killer's motivation is never explained. Anyone looking for logic will struggle.