13 Tzameti (2006)

Well if you thought being a roofer was a dangerous enough job, just wait til you meet the young “Sébastian” (George Babluani). He is working on a property when he finds a piece of paper left atop his wheelbarrow. Now we know how it got there but he doesn’t, so it makes for quite an intrigue when he finds it contains instructions that take him to a locker, then onto a train, then into the hands of some unscrupulous gents who now coerce him into a game that could quite literally deliver life and death at the flick of a switch. Of course, he is terrified and anxious but he has been promised a big pay day, so can he persevere under the gaze of an especially menacing MC (Pascal Bongard)? And even if he does, can he trust any of his new best friends to keep their word? There are a few subplots with the police, the original candidate for the peril and an axe to the bathroom door, and I really didn’t like the ending at all - but for the most part Babluani and the intense photography make this one of the most compelling thrillers I’ve seen for ages. The structure of the drama helps perpetuate the jeopardy and the performances and the limited but potent dialogue as we get to the pointy end really do prove quite tense. It packs a lot into ninety minutes and is well worth a watch if you like your crime-noirs pretty brutal without being bloodthirsty.