Avant l'aube

This movie takes us back to the gold old "Cinema De Papa" when Pierre Very and Boileau-Narcejac wrote strong screenplays which did not fall apart after the first reel;some would mention Georges Simenon,which means we deal with pure psychological drama/thriller.

Jean-Pierre Bacri gives a powerful terrific performance as the owner of a luxury hotel in the Pyrénées ;we do not really know if he is forced to help this young delinquent because this young lad knows too much about his family or because he needs a human being he can call his son -the relationship with his own son is not exactly ideal-;as for Frederic,he has always been a boy down on his luck:his boss is(or seems to be) the first person to show him sympathy ,in spite of the reproaches of his wife ,who is not prepared to accept a prole -who was in jail for three months- in her cozy bourgeois home.

The cruel ending has got something of Claude Chabrol,maybe the only NV director who had his roots in the great old cinema .

Vincent Rottiers is the weakest link of the cast ,lacking screen presence ;just imagine what Cyril Descours would have done in this part!

Sylvie Testud plays a female Colombo ,also recalling the parts of those superintendents of long ago,Louis Jouvet in "Quai Des Orfevres" or mainly Charles Vanel in "Les Diaboliques".

The director is not Clouzot or Christian-Jaque ,but his movie ,an oasis in a world of blood ,sex and violence,should not be missed:once more,kudos to Bacri!