23:58

Tale of a stadium holdup during the Le Mans 24-hour motorbike race, "23:58" freely mixes movie-buff in-jokes and solid genre elements to generally satisfying results, despite coming unglued in the final reels. This fourth helming excursion by French cameraman Pierre-William Glenn (who's worked with Tavernier, Truffaut, Losey and Fuller) is too ingrown to win general

Tale of a stadium holdup during the Le Mans 24-hour motorbike race, "23:58" freely mixes movie-buff in-jokes and solid genre elements to generally satisfying results, despite coming unglued in the final reels. This fourth helming excursion by French cameraman Pierre-William Glenn (who's worked with Tavernier, Truffaut, Losey and Fuller) is too ingrown to win general offshore auds' interest but reps his best feature to date, following uneven earlier works and the dismal futuristic actioner "Terminus" (1987).

Tale of a stadium holdup during the Le Mans 24-hour motorbike race, “23:58” freely mixes movie-buff in-jokes and solid genre elements to generally satisfying results, despite coming unglued in the final reels. This fourth helming excursion by French cameraman Pierre-William Glenn (who’s worked with Tavernier, Truffaut, Losey and Fuller) is too ingrown to win general offshore auds’ interest but reps his best feature to date, following uneven earlier works and the dismal futuristic actioner “Terminus” (1987).

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The running joke throughout “23:58” is that the robbery reminds the investigating cop (Jean-Pierre Malo) of a heist movie. After running through titles like “The Anderson Tapes,””Melodie en sous-sol” and “L’Amour braque,” he finally realizes it’s Stanley Kubrick’s 1956 “The Killing,” also set at a racetrack.

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It’s here, about an hour in, that the buff element starts to derail the film. After a series of stills from the Kubrick pic, the cop says he’s decided “to change the ending” and even gives the main robber (Jean-Francois Stevenin) a vidcassette of the movie.

Apart from minor details like the robbers wearing masks and a fight diversion near the start, Glenn’s film bears no resemblance to Kubrick’s B&W classic, with its complex cutting and grittier, ’50s feel. On its own terms, however, “23:58” is a neat time-passer.

Pic is framed as a reminiscence by ex-racer Bernard (Stevenin) in a letter to the young daughter (helmer’s own sprig, Amelie Glenn) of a late colleague, in whose memory he’s arranged the heist. With another former biker, Thierry (Gerard Garnier), and a host of well-placed helpers, Bernard steals 6 million francs of gate money and hides out in the track area till the race is over.

Things go wrong early on, with two karate colleagues trying to cut themselves in on the loot, the g.f. (Sophie Tellier) of one associate blabbing to the police, and an Arab helper (Kader Boukanef) killed on the track. Meanwhile, the chief cop, who’s a motorbike and movie buff, slowly pieces together the scenario.

Glenn cleverly mixes in footage shot at the 14th Le Mans race to give the film a verismo feel. Less certain is the pic’s pacing, which, like the occasional sax solos on the soundtrack, has a loose feel that doesn’t build any tension.

Still, performances by a seasoned cast keep things ticking, led by Malo’s wondrously laid-back, longhaired cop and Stevenin’s grizzled ex-racer. Tech credits are smooth.

Film’s title stems from a remark by Malo’s character that the 24-hour race lasts only 23 hours and 58 minutes, as the last lap is never run because of spectators’ invasion of the track.

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23:58

(FRENCH)

  • Production: An MW Prods. production. (International sales: Motion Media, Paris.) Produced by Pierre-William Glenn, Martine Benveniste. Directed by Glenn. Screenplay, Glenn, Frederic Leroy, Edith Vergne.
  • Crew: Camera (Fujicolor), Jean-Claude Vicquery; editor, Anita Perez; music, Laurent Cugny; art direction, Jacques Voizot; costume design, Magali Guidasci; sound, Henri Roux, Adrien Nataf; assistant director, Olivier Peray; second unit director, Alain-Michel Blanc. Reviewed at London Film Festival, Nov. 15, 1994. Running time: 83 MIN.
  • With: Bernard ... Jean-Francois Stevenin Supt. Paul (Steve) Morin ... Jean-Pierre Malo Thierry ... Gerard Garnier Inspector Jean-Marie ... Yan Epstein Momo ... Kader Boukanef Florence ... Amelie Glenn Didi ... Sophie Tellier Inspector Bertrand ... Isabelle Maltese Inspector Mathieu ... Octave Arrighi

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