The Films of Georges Franju

La tête contre les murs

Eyes Without a Face

Spotlight on a Murderer

Thérèse Desqueyroux

Judex (December 24/14)

Judex details the crime-fighting exploits of the title character, with the narrative following Channing Pollock's Vallières (aka Judex) as he targets an unscrupulous banker. Filmmaker Georges Franju kicks the proceedings off with an impressively gripping and thoroughly fast-paced opening half hour, as the director effectively establishes the central character and his less-than-lawful modus operandi right from the get-go - with the movie building to a striking party sequence detailing a masked ball attended by the central character (who arrives wearing a tuxedo and a large bird's head mask). It's rather unfortunate to note, then, that Judex takes a deep downward spiral once it passes that point, as Franju offers up a narrative that's absurdly complicated and hopelessly incoherent - with the film's hands-off atmosphere compounded by a less-than-charismatic performance by star Pollock (ie he's got all the charm and presence of a block of wood, ultimately). There's little doubt that the movie grows more and more interminable as time slowly passes, and it becomes awfully difficult to work up an ounce of interest in or sympathy for the protagonist's continuing exploits (ie we're just not sure what he's up to, which makes it impossible to care). And while Franju's impressively contemporary visuals periodically lift one's waning attention, Judex, for the most part, remains an entirely ineffective curiosity that's best left forgotten.

out of

Thomas the Impostor

La faute de l'abbé Mouret

Nuits rouges