The Fugitives

1986 [FRENCH]

Action / Comedy / Crime / Drama

4
IMDb Rating 7.0/10 10 8680 8.7K

friendship france chase on the run bank robbery single father

Plot summary

Coming out from jail, Lucas has decided to change his life and behave like a good citizen. But when he is taken hostage in a bank by a hare-brained robber, no cops can believe he is not part of the action.

Director

Francis Veber Photo
Francis Veber

Top cast

Jean Carmet Photo
Jean Carmet as Martin
Gérard Depardieu Photo
Gérard Depardieu as Jean Lucas
Pierre Richard Photo
Pierre Richard as François Pignon
Maurice Barrier Photo
Maurice Barrier as Superintendant Duroc
720p.BluRay
818.84 MB
1280*720
French 2.0
NR
Subtitles us   ro  
24 fps
1 hr 29 min
Seeds 10

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by writers_reign

Runaway Success

I'm in complete awe of Francis Veber as both a writer and a director. How he can continue to ring even more changes out of what is essentially a Johnny-one-note idea both amaze and delight. Here he is at it again and, for good measure, adds a soupcon of sensitivity into the mix. Maybe, as a previous commenter has stated, we should just bask in the invention, charm and acting skills on display and not attempt analysis. Depardieu is now, of course, arguably the best-known and best-loved contemporary French actor in the world by virtue, and rightly so, of his unsurpassed range rather than the occasional English-speaking role but Gene Wilder lookalike Pierre Richard is virtually unknown outside France - at least in England - which is sad. Now aged 70 he continues to work - not, alas, with Veber - and as I write is appearing on the Paris stage in a piece which translates to 'Fish Out Of Water', as good a description as any for the inept bank-robber he plays here, basically a nerd desperate to bankroll a cure for his young daughter, rendered mute since witnessing the death of her mother. As luck - or meet-cute scripting - would have it, ex-con Depardieu (he literally left the slammer minutes earlier) is in the bank when Richard holds it up and of all the hostages he COULD pick to help him getaway he picks Depardieu, natch. From then on it's business as usual, two opposites who attract the flics. Replete with both sight gags and verbal wit this is one to cherish. 9/10
Reviewed by The-Sarkologist 7 / 10

A very funny French comedy

There is one thing the Americans are good at: taking a perfectly good French Movie and totally stuffing it up – and they change very little in it as well. This movie is the original French version of what became Three Fugitives, and this movie is by far the better.What is amazing is that the two movies are almost identical, right down to the scene where the robber has a stocking over his head, and when he removes a pin from a grenade, the stocking melts, but it is done far better in the French movie than it is done in the American.Basically the movie is about a professional bank robber who is released from gaol and happens to end up in a bank that is held up, and he is taken hostage. Because the police do not trust him, they accuse him of robbing the bank. The third fugitive is a little girl who has not spoken since her mother died.The basic themes of this movie is about relationships, and how one's actions can destroy the lives of more than one person. Here the bank robber not only upsets his life, but also the life of his little girl and the recently released convict. He believes that by doing this he will help out his little girl, but in the end he ends up hurting her. It is also interesting to see that the convict has a human heart (what else is he going to have?). What I mean is that he acts with a cold and mean demeanor, but in truth he does care for the girl, and the robber who is really just stupid.This is a cute little film, especially the one made in France. The little girl is just adorable, and her sad demeanor does tear your heart.
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