After Life

This film completes Lucas Belvaux’s pioneering trilogy, in which the constraints of genre are challenged and explored in a unique style of film-making that has been recognised throughout the industry.
Each film stands in its own right and, in the final instalment, Belvaux brings us a gritty drama involving infidelity, drug-addiction and political terrorism. With characters previously seen in the farcical comedy, An Amazing Couple, and the intense thriller, Cavale, we are offered yet another perspective on the intriguing lives of this unlikely group of people.
Here, we have Pascal, a police inspector, who is given the burden of hunting down the escaped terrorist, Le Roux, whilst dealing simultaneously with his morphine-addicted wife, Agnès, and his hidden love for her best friend, Cécile.
This is a compelling and thought-provoking film, which contains some incredibly intense performances. The characters are so superbly developed that, under Belvaux’s direction, they are able to convey the same level of truthfulness within any given genre, which is perhaps why these three films work so well on their own or, indeed, as part of the trilogy for which they were intended.