Search - Franck Spadone on DVD

Effective understated French gangster noir

LGwriter | Astoria, N.Y. United States | 05/12/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Aaide from Monica Belucci, the cast of this little-known French noir film is unknowns, but don't let that stop you from watching it. Actor Richard Bean--also mostly unknown--steps behind the camera to direct, and the results are surprisingly good.

The title character, along with two cronies, is a pickpocket who finds marks on the Metro (the French subway system in Paris) as well as in hotels, airports, etc. One of the first people he lifts a purse from, in the film, is stripper Laura (Belucci), with whom he is instantly smitten. As it turns out, the club where she works is a hangout for a group of gangsters who plan on taking over the turf of a rival.

One of the best things about this film is the director's judicious use of understatement, cinematically, to develop the story. Rather than the typical overt approach used in American films, he makes use of suggestion very frequently. This makes the film a lot of fun to watch; the viewer has to connect the dots a lot of the time, but because they're not difficult dots to connect, this tends to keep your attention hooked on the film as it takes you deeper into noir territory.

Of course it also helps to have the ravishing Monica Belucci on board as well as the unwitting femme fatale. Obsession, one of the trusted noir standard emotions, is the focus here and Franck's obsession with Laura relentlessly drives this movie, no question.

All the actors turn in fine performances, which, admittedly, is not that tough because Bean (the writer as well as the director) thankfully uses minimal dialogue. This is a great device, contributing to the above-mentioned understated approach to the story development.

A top-notch addition to contemporary foreign noir films, Franck Spadone is definitely worth seeing."

Overrated movie of bellucci

Pritpal Kalsi | india | 03/25/2008

(2 out of 5 stars)

"this is one of the average movie that i have seen of monica bellucci, there nothing much to rate this i every department be it cinematography, direction, or acting."

Improper subtitling of a widescreen film

Victor Danemore | Midcoast Maine | 06/13/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I shall hope that that in future transfers of widescreen foreign movies, studios will remember
the placing of English subtitles must be such that we the viewers MUST be able to read subtitles
on widescreen TV sets. IF not, such as the case with FRANCK SPADONE (an otherwise superior neo-noir film),
then we shall forced to watch with bars on all 4 sides of the screen image. Without a big screen,
which fortunately Ido have, then the visible image will be too small. Oh yes, Monica Bellucci is always a sight
to behold."