"Apaches" (2013 release from France; 84 min.) brings the story of a group of teenagers in Corsica. As the movie opens, we see an older guy and his son taking care of a beautiful house owned by a French family that is about to arrive for the summer. Later that evening, the son, Aziz, returns with 4 other friends and they hold an impromptu pool party while along the way trashing some of the house and stealing some things. In the days after, questions are raised and Aziz returns the stolen stuff. What he didn't know is that his friends also stole an expensive rifle... To tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.
Couple of comments: first, the movie is set on the French island of Corsica, a rarely used setting in the movies. We later learn from the director that for him this was the point of the movie, to essentially showcase Corsica. Goal accomplished. Second, many in the group of the teenagers are of Moroccan descent, and the movie creates the impression that lots of Muslims live in Corsica (I have no idea whether this is an accurate reflection of reality). Third, the movie records what the teenagers do without making any judgment on their actions (similar to, say, Sofia Coppola's The Bling Ring). Contrary to the impression created by the DVD's front jacket ("Parties Booze Sex Murder."), the movie is much more than a "party movie". Yes, there is some of that, but the second half of the movie becomes a much more compelling psychological study of the youngsters.
"Apaches" was the November, 2014 release of Film Movement's DVD-of-the-month Club. As always, the DVD comes with a bonus shortie, and this time we get "Margerita" (2013 release from Italy; 15 min.), in which a burglar with an appreciation for classical music, finds that the house he is robbing is owned by a famous classical violinist. What will the burglar do? Just watch! Back to the main attraction: "Apaches" is a worthy addition to Film Movement's ever-growing catalog of foreign and indie movies.
