Aux Yeux du Monde

Desperate to impress his long-distance girlfriend (Gainsbourg), Bruno (Attal) hijacks a school bus and, at gunpoint, forces the driver, kids and teacher (Scott-Thomas) to accompany him on his long, wayward odyssey to the girl's home. Panic ensues, but the infants strike up a relationship of sorts with their often befuddled captor, while the teacher remains firm but understanding. The cops, how ever, are less forgiving... Like Hippo in Rochant's earlier World Without Pity, Bruno is less an angry young man than sorely in need of attention. Rochant and Attal (astonishingly good in his first lead role) certainly make him sympathetic, but never gloss over his ludicrous braggadocio or his fundamental wrong-headedness about his beloved's feelings. What makes the film so engrossing is its complexity, with a simple road thriller plot enormously enhanced by subtle performances, a telling use of landscape and psychological details, and an assured control of mood, which shifts effortlessly between manic comedy, taut suspense and more contemplative moments.