Bandits

The traditional theme of Claude Lelouch's films is the relationship between a man and a woman. Usually, it is a romantic relationship, but this time the director played out a game of emotions between a father and a daughter. It is a drama that sometimes balances on the edge of the comedy genre. A smuggler of stolen goods sends his daughter to a safe foreign asylum and has her raised in a strict boarding school for children from a better society. When the man returns from serving his sentence, he meets a completely unknown girl who is now part of the safe bourgeois environment, and the intertwining of their worlds naturally causes a lot of emotional problems and tragicomic situations. The film may not be one of the best that Lelouch has directed, but he can precisely balance sentiment, the crime genre, and comedic exaggeration, creating an exciting and visually pleasing film. I even swallowed the seemingly unbelievable prison escape without any protests. Overall impression: 80%. There may not be many catchphrases in it, but they are such that you will remember them for a long time to come. (11/19/2008)