Zone rouge (1986)
Directed by Robert Enrico

Film Review

The name Robert Enrico may not be too well-known today but in the 1960s and '70s he was a prolific screenwriter and director who was favoured by the critics whilst notching up some notable hits at the French box office.  His best known films - Les Grandes gueules (1966) and Le Vieux fusil (1975) both attracted audiences of over three million, whilst his debut feature La Belle vie (1962) won him the Prix Jean Vigo.  Zone rouge is one of his lesser works, a run-of-the-mill conspiracy thriller that was made in the same year as the acclaimed BBC television series Edge of Darkness, with which it has some striking similarities.

The film is based on the 1978 novel Brûlez-les-tous! by Georges-Jean Arnaud and tapped into widespread concerns at the time about government involvement in concealing from the public the harm (to both communities and the environment) of ecologically damaging industries - particularly in the nuclear and chemicals spheres.  The Seveso disaster, a dioxin release that blighted a region of Italy in the mid-1970s, was still fresh in people's minds and, with environmental pressure groups such as Greenpeace coming to the fore, public awareness of similar catastrophes was steadily mushrooming.
 
Given the relevance of its subject to our present times, it's surprising that Zone rouge isn't far better known and appreciated than it is.  What perhaps lets it down is a plot that, after a promising beginning, rapidly runs away with itself and becomes so ludicrously far-fetched that you struggle to take any of it seriously.  Enrico's direction, whilst perfectly competent, lacks the inspired touch of his earlier films, and so it pales in comparison with his nearest comparable thriller, Le Secret (1974).  Unimaginatively filmed, scripted with no real flair, Zone rouge is a pretty bland offering from a director who had, at the time, a solid track record for turning out gripping crowd-pleasers.

The film's one strong suit is an utterly compelling performance from its lead actress, Sabine Azéma, who had recently shot to stardom after winning a César for her memorable turn in Bertrand Tavernier's Un dimanche à la campagne (1984).  Azéma rarely leant her talents to genre fair such as thus and is best known for her appearance in auteur pieces, predominantly those directed by her husband Alain Resnais.  Without her star presence Zone libre would have been a pretty lacklustre affair.  She gives it a reality and a dynamism that keeps us involved, which is more than can be said for her miscast co-star Richard Anconina, who appears to be just going through the motions.

There are some notable names in the supporting cast - Hélène Surgère, Jean Reno and Jacques Nolot - but only one performer stands out, the superlative Jean Bouise, without whom no French conspiracy thriller of this era would be complete.  Since the film's release in the mid-1980s, environmental disasters (and consequent associated government-initiated cover-ups) of the kind it depicts are too many to enumerate, so, with today's cinema-goers more eco-conscious than ever, maybe Zone libre is long overdue for a remake?

Film Synopsis

One summer evening, on a quiet road on the outskirts of Lyon, some tins of paint fall from a lorry.  It's hard to imagine that such an innocuous event could have such devastating consequences... When she learns that her former husband Pierre has fallen ill, Claire Rousset, a young schoolteacher, pays him a visit.   He lives in a small village near to Lyon.  Claire is at a loss to account for her husband's flu-like symptoms, but before she knows what is happening the entire village has gone up in flames.  She narrowly escapes being caught in the blast, but her husband is killed instantly.

Traumatised by this drama, the schoolteacher is ill-disposed to receive a visit from a stranger, Jeff Montelier, who claims to be working for a debt collection agency.  Jeff is surprised when he is taken off the case and decides to carry out his own investigation.  Before long, he discovers that he and Claire are trying to unravel the same mystery - just how could an entire village be destroyed in a fire, and what caused the fire in the first place?  As witnesses begin to die in mysterious circumstances, it soon becomes apparent that a state cover-up may be in progress...