The Intruder (2005)

Places Outside the Heart

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Buy The Intruder on DVD

The latest release by the brilliant French filmmaker Claire Denis arrives for a week at the Castro (429 Castro St., SF). The Intruder is a gloriously poetic, yet often baffling experience about an old man's final days before, during and after a black market heart transplant. The man (Michel Subor) travels from snowy, chilly woods on one side of the world to a tropical paradise on the other, looking for his neglected offspring. Though some of these experiences may be taking place in his head, Denis refuses to delineate between reality and dream. Using very little dialogue, she instead focuses on casting a lingering, physically enticing spell.

It's definitely easier to follow Denis earlier works, films like I Can't Sleep, Beau Travail, or Friday Night, which are confined to a single setting. The Intruder spreads itself more broadly and thinly and thereby requires either full attention, or a complete surrender to its unique rhythms.

DVD Details: Wellspring's DVD preserves the film's beautiful, widescreen visuals, even if it's a bit scant on the extras. We get an interview with Denis (who always comes across as irritated and impatient), filmographies and trailers.

Starring: Michel Subor, Béatrice Dalle, Grégoire Colin, Florence Loiret-Caille, Katia Golubeva, Bambou
Written by: Claire Denis, Jean-Pol Fargeau, based on a book by Jean-Luc Nancy
Directed by: Claire Denis
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Language: French, English, Korean, Russian with English subtitles
Running Time: 130 minutes
Date: March 31, 2006