Subway (DVD)

Subway revolves around the characters of Helena, the beautiful young wife of a wealthy businessman and Fred a stranger she invites to a party her husband is throwing. Fred obviously knows who she is howvever, as he proceeds to steal incriminating documents from her husband's safe, with the aim of blackmailing the couple. What follows is the story of Fred's escape into the Paris metro system, Helena's growing obsession and eventual love for him and ...
...thriller Diva. Above all Subway goes about telling a story through incredible visuals and cinematography.

The car chase filmed as if you were in the driving seat drags you into the film at the very beginning. The scenes in the metro offer contrasts with the dark, hell like conditions of the unfortunates of society who live in the tunnels,the bright harsh fluorescent lights of the stations where the two worlds of above and below collide ... more

Subway revolves around the characters of Helena, the beautiful young wife of a wealthy businessman and Fred a stranger she invites to a party her husband is throwing. Fred obviously knows who she is howvever, as he proceeds to steal incriminating documents from her husband's safe, with the aim of blackmailing the couple. What follows is the story of Fred's escape into the Paris metro system, Helena's growing obsession and eventual love for him and the discovery of a community underground of which most of Paris is unaware.

The plot as described above is pretty thin and to be honest that is a fair assessment. The ending of the film in particular is somewhat ludicrous (think of Far and Away and you won't be too far off) but then, as with most of Besson's work, the plot is almost the least important aspect. Like Reservoir Dogs the story is more concerned with the characters themselves than the situations they find themselves in. It also goes about this in an unashamedly 80's cyberpunk, surrealist way. Does this mean the film looks dated - well yes, but not at the expense of the central themes - love, revenge, redemption and the struggle for survival.

Stylistic influences are obvious all the way through: the bleach blonde Billy Idol look Lambert adopts through the film, the Star Wars like artwork on the film's poster, the French Connection car chase homage, the dark moodiness of films like Blade Runner and the popular 1981 French thriller Diva. Above all Subway goes about telling a story through incredible visuals and cinematography.

The car chase filmed as if you were in the driving seat drags you into the film at the very beginning. The scenes in the metro offer contrasts with the dark, hell like conditions of the unfortunates of society who live in the tunnels,the bright harsh fluorescent lights of the stations where the two worlds of above and below collide and the tranquil pastel shades of Paris above - a simplistic allegory for heaven, hell and purgatory but one that is done with artistic brilliance.

This is a story about being cast out and the possibility of redemption. The possibility of living outside of societies rules in order to be free and the consequences that come with that.

The central performances are respectively good on the part of Adjani who plays Helena and over the top by Lambert but even here they fit into the style and themes of the film.

If you have seen and enjoyed any of Besson's later English work like Leon(a personal favourite) or the Fifth element then give this film a try. Don't be put off by the presence of subtitles, this is a fantastic introduction to French cinema as it shares more stylistically with American cinema than European art house and yet still manages to convey elements of both.

A really great cinematic experience.

I always recommend Play.com for buying DVDs as this is my preferred format. Currently they are doing subway for £8.49 including delivery so snap one up!

http://www.play.com/play247.asp?page=title&r=R2&title=112825
 

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