Do I recommend the thriller Revanche?

It should be simple to answer, right?

Just a yea. Or a nay.

But it’s not…simple. Not for me.

If you’ve read my blog before then you know I can’t…that I’m just not capable of one word answers. You know that…not that there aren’t exceptions to the rule…it’s like grammar…English…there’s always an exception.

Case in point…Die Hard. Now, I could give it a one word answer…review…what have you…and be done. It would be bold–just like the sobriquet character, John McClane.

But Revanche is not like that. Revanche is much more nuanced. It’s foreign. Artsy. There are no easily discernable tropes that scream–this is a thriller. It’s not taut…it meanders… but not in a hazy, surrealistic way. And there are subtitles.

So what’s the plot, you ask?

Well, revanche is French for revenge so it’s a revenge yarn. And when I say yarn, I’m using the term metaphorically… like it’s actual yarn. That doesn’t make it bad…if you like knitting. Or crochet.

But, here’s the twist…or I should say, a twist…Revanche is an Austrian film. And Austrians speak German. In the German language Revanche has a double meaning. It means revenge, yes…but it also means re-match…or second chance.

Anyhoo, there’s this young woman. Her name is Tamara. She’s being sex trafficked. Despite this…and worrisome cocaine habit…she has retained a gentle childlike quality that glints unexpectedly…like when she clasps her hands and prays.

Tamara has a boyfriend…an ex-con named Alex. He works for the traffickers, but he’s not a bad guy…he’s just lazy…and scruffy. He is also madly in love with Tamara.

Alex devises a plot to rob a bank so they can escape and start a new life together. He’s very enthused and pleased with himself over this caper.

Tamera?…not so much.

Alex tries to assuage her by demonstrating that his gun isn’t loaded. He does so by putting it to his head and pulling the trigger. He likes to do silly things like that…things that border on creepy…like pointing the gun at Tamara…and waking her up with a ski mask covering his face.

Needless to say Tamara is not assuaged…she won’t sign off unless he takes her with him . Alex reluctantly agrees, but makes her wait in the car while he robs the bank. He laughs at her when she prays.

Oh…the car. It’s blocking an alley…so there’s that…and of course a cop comes a long…

Alex manages to escape with the money, but not with Tamara. He’s devastated… and very pissed off. He hightails it to his grandfather’s rustic, rural home where he hides out…and relentlessly chops a mountain of wood.

At first grandpa is none too pleased to see Alex–let alone put him up. Alex says his mom told him to come help. Grandpa is skeptical. He’s aware of his grandson’s indiscretions with the law…just not this latest one…plus Alex barely says two words to him.

But gradually…remember what I said about the yarn?…their relationship begins to thaw. Much to his surprise, grandpa actually benefits form the arrangement. Now that he doesn’t have to shoulder all the chores, he has more energy. He takes up playing the accordion again.

Grandpa has a young woman friend…a neighbor who looks in on him from time to time. Her name is Susanne.

Susanne desperately wants a child…she has recently miscarried…but her husband, Robert, suffers from some psychological issues having to do with a trauma suffered at his job. He is rarely interested in intimacy of any kind.

Even though it’s out of her character…she’s a very nice woman…Susanne throws herself at Alex. He makes it monosyllabically clear that he wants nothing to do with her. But she persists.

Then one day while Alex is grocery shopping with grandpa, he overhears Susanne…she works at the store…talking about a bank robbery. She says her husband, Robert, happened to encounter the robbers…a man and a woman…in a car…blocking an alley…