Point Blank

2.5 Paws
Seen recently at Film Streams

If you have asthma, you might want to skip this one.

It's just plain hard to catch your breath from the get-go. We're barely introduced to Samuel Pierret (played with ferocity by Gilles Lellouche) before he's plunged into a bizarre scenario reminiscent of the mess Harrison Ford's Dr. Richard Kimble found himself in in the 1993 version of The Fugitive.

Paris may be the city of light, but director Fred Cavaye purposely turned it off, creating a gray and grimy city that serves as the perfect backdrop for the film's rotten apple storyline. The acting was solid across the board, especially the muted performance turned in by Roschdy Zem, the film's 'good' bad guy. And, just when you think it's over, there's a skosh more to come, which makes for a very satisfying ending.

As my husband says every time we see a good foreign film with mass market potential: "I wonder who'll be cast in the American version."

Bonus Bones: 0
No police dogs, no dogs lounging underneath tables in sidewalk cafes while their owners sip between ciggie puffs - no dogs.