Watch Sombre For Free

Too much of everything

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

When I read the plot of this movie, I was really interested in watching it, since I really like French movies. They are not shy in themes like sex, religion, violence, horror, blood, etc. and although the idea of this movie had a lot of potential, for me it was a waste of time. I liked the beginning, but after that, things got from bad to worse. I understand that it is a low budget movie, but that doesn't justify that the action happens so slow, that the photography is extremely dark and won't allow you to catch any details, that there are a lot of shots that work for nothing on the movie, like water on a lake (and since the photography is so dark, it is not even worth a landscape shot), or close ups and long dialogs with characters that are not important in the movie, same as lack of dialogs with characters that are worth knowing more, a camera that was by shoulder almost all the time (that makes the movie awfully tired to watch) and horrible audio, that makes steps on little rocks and water sounds really annoying. The acting is OK and again, the story had a lot of potential, but to me this new wave of "experimental" or "art" film, where supposedly everything is called artistic to justify the lack of budget or the lack of imagination solving budget problems, is not really art movies. Shame, because sadly, for me, even if it sounds as blasphemy to the art movie lovers, a commercial director could have made of the script something agile, maybe scary, and shocking. Specially when the story had so much to offer. The points are because the story is cool (horribly handled), the beginning is nice, and the acting was good too. That's it.

Nearly pointless but artistic exercise in bad filmmaking. Little character development, little plot, little dialog, and little suspense make for a boring movie. Though some of the ideas behind the story hold much potential, and some of the visuals are quite stunning in a freshmen experimental kind of way, the execution is amateurish and artistically over indulgent. Additionally, as incoherent as the plot is, it's also highly unrealistic (not in a good way) and fairly stupid. What's worse, you know how clever and arty the director thought he was being when he orchestrated this mess, even having the audacity to use 'Bela Lugosi's Dead' in one scene. Totally pretentious, totally ridiculous. Not recommended.

"Sombre" tells the story of serial killer Jean(Marc Barbe)who murders unfortunate roadside hookers.After erotic play he strangles them to death.Claire(Elina Lowensohn)is a virginal and introverted young woman.She is taken for a ride with him."Sombre" is a bleak serial killer movie filled with dark and brooding atmosphere.The dialogue is kept to a minimum and the killings are shot in the pitch-blackness.The cinematography is stunningly minimalist and disorienting with jerky camera movements and lots of extreme close-ups.The murder scenes leave a lot to the imagination.But being in the dark is far more terrifying than seeing everything.The characters are paper-thin,but the acting is believable and the score by French band Suicide is effective."Sombre" is a step into the gloom.8 out of 10.If you liked Gerald Kargl's "Angst" you can't miss "Sombre".

What an apt title. This film reminds me of Mick Harris/Scorn's music, which is high praise indeed. Not much talk here, which is very well. The plot. A sort of quiet natural born killer seduces and strangles women, again and again. No ill feelings about it. Love comes in. Well, this is a film about human beings, and there are not so many of them out there. So, though it is not exactly EASY, it is ESSENTIAL VIEWING. So, open your ears, for sound is (almost) everything here. Good stuff. William Burroughs would have liked it.