Who Killed Bambi
This is one of the first films in Tartan’s new Cine Lumiere collection. Pitched as a Hitchcockian chiller and sold on the back of the film HARRY, HE’S HERE TO HELP (the very refreshing atmospheric French thriller), WHO KILLED BAMBI? doesn’t quite reach those heights. Directed by Gilles Marchand, the writer of HARRY and Cedric Kahn’s meditative RED LIGHTS, this film delivers on atmosphere....
This is one of the first films in Tartan’s new Cine Lumiere collection. Pitched as a Hitchcockian chiller and sold on the back of the film HARRY, HE’S HERE TO HELP (the very refreshing atmospheric French thriller), WHO KILLED BAMBI? doesn’t quite reach those heights. Directed by Gilles Marchand, the writer of HARRY and Cedric Kahn’s meditative RED LIGHTS, this film delivers on atmosphere and technical ability but falls short in the intricacy of the plot’s realisation.
Without giving too much away, because you may want to see this movie, it centers on a hospital where a student nurse starts to suspect that the enigmatic Dr. Philipp is up to something quite unwholesome with some of the hospitals patients. Upon becoming embroiled in this new world, the student starts to take an extra interest in the ever present Doctor, piecing together particular information and arriving at some rather shocking conclusions.
The movie starts and pursues a rather bleak atmosphere, from the empty hospital corridors to the student’s entrance into the world of assisting with operations. Running concurrently with this is her own illness that means she keeps fainting, usually in the close vicinity of the mysterious Doctor. These elements, along with the use of an eerie sound track, all combine to provide an uneasy feeling that stays with the film until its convoluted ending.
This film falls short in the same way that most of the Korean horror films of recent times have. They are great on atmosphere but long winded on plot and especially the amount of twists and turns that take place in the last 30 minutes (e.g. TALE OF TWO SISTERS). In the French context it reminded me of the recent SWITCHBLADE ROMANCE, a film with a truly memorable first 80 minutes and then a truly pathetic unwarranted ending. Thrillers are a great genre, that allow for a lot of screenwriting freedom but the days of the final plot twist seems to be outdated. When you were not expecting it, it is always shocking but when you are expecting it, rarely does it ever match the film you have been watching.
Anyway, the technical quality of this DVD is excellent. The picture is pristine and the sound was crystal clear, coming in 2.0 Stereo, 5.1 Surround and DTS 5.1 Surround. The colours and framing of the anamorphic presentation are superb, not surprisingly, as the Cinematographer is Pierre Milon, the guy responsible for the naturalistic TRILOGY directed by Lucas Belvaux. This movie definitely adds to his cannon of work. However, as good as the presentation is, that doesn’t make up for the fact that there are no extras included on this disc, a trend that isn’t repeated on the other films in this collection you will be pleased to here.
The movie has a number of good qualities that may appeal to a number of viewers. The Doctor is acted well by the ever excellent and brave Laurent Lucas (the guy from HARRY, HE’S HERE TO HELP, TIME OUT, and DANS MA PEAU). The atmosphere of the film remains throughout and is just about enough to carry the film through to the conclusion, and for a pretty new director, I think that he will be one to watch in the future. It also plays on the power of the viewers’ imagination, in much the same way as the ear scene in RESERVOIR DOGS, it is suggestive and more powerful for it. On the downside, the hospital has the feel that only 4 people work there and the last 20 minutes are convoluted. But as this is a thriller and not realism, this may not offend all viewers.
The good news is that Marchand has again teamed up with Domonik Moll (who was the director on HARRY and credited as Technical consultant on this movie) for a new project but this time in the capacity of his real talent – writer. As a film WHO KILLED BAMBI? is pretty shallow but as a movie it has a few things to recommend it, so if you a member of an online DVD rental company, maybe it is worth getting it on your list. Its atmosphere alone makes it stand above the majority of contemporary Hollywood thrillers on the market.
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