The Last Battle

1983 Director Luc Besson

This is Luc Bessons debut film. Set in a post apocalyptic world it charts the progress of one mans struggle to survive.

Having built a glider out of spare parts our hero sets off to find a better area to live. Here he encounters a fierce opponent, played by a very young Jean Reno. Having come off the worse for his first encounter he is taken in by a doctor. All is not what it seems as the good doctor has his own agenda.

Shot in black and white with no dialogue at all, this film is a curious cross between David Lynch's Eraserhead and Jacques Tati's Les Vacances to M. Hulot. This is a very good example of an accomplished director cutting his teeth and feeling his way. Unfortunately the low budget shows at times but if you can forgive some fairly obvious anachronisms then this is definitely worth a watch.

If you have already seen Subway then you will recognise quite a few scenes and their composition, as well as Jean Boise, who played the doctor.

Subway

1985 Director Luc Besson

Luc Besson created this tongue-in-cheek look at the denizens in the tunnels of the Paris Metro, all set to a thumping good soundtrack.

Christopher Lambert plays a young man who steals a portfolio from the host of a cocktail party and uses it as leverage to secure a date with his wife. In the meantime he takes refuge in the labyrinth that is the Parisian Metro. She is rebellious and bored with her bourgeois life and welcomes the distraction. This underground world is populated with various characters that hinder and help the protagonist along the way. Through all of these encounters and activities, the police and others are after him for their own reasons, none of which coincide.

Subway is an art house film that is a surreal feast for the senses.  Espionage, blackmail & passion make it an intense ride.

Angel-A

2005 Director Luc Besson

This is a dark comedy from Besson and not just because it's been shot in black and white.

Jamel Debbouze (the shy grocer from Amelie) plays a bungling scam artist with a little too much good in his heart for his own good. As his debts mount and his gangland enemies close in he decides to jump into the Seine only to find a long legged blond girl about to do the same. They team up in a voyage of self discovery with surprising results.

Paris is always a good background to a film and the moody location shots work particularly well. Unfortunately, once you have discovered who Angela-A is the film loses its inertia and becomes increasingly predictable culminating in a disappointing end. If as much depth had been given to the supporting characters the whole thing would have been more believable.

It's worth seeing once and is not representative of Besson's other work.