Known as Déflagrations in its native tongue, Blast is a French thriller that will plant your heart firmly in your throat. Written by Pablo Baubetti and Vanya Peirani-Vignes (who also directs), Blast is an excellent example of a single situation story done right. Intrigue and suspense are heaped onto the viewer in the opening seconds, a drone capturing Parisian skylines and buildings, before slowly and purposefully plunging into darkness. Next we meet Fred (Pierre Kiwitt), his daughter, and step-son, as they hop into his partner’s car. Confused by the technology, Fred has to admit defeat and get his other half Sonia (Army of the Dead’s Nora Arnezeder) to start the car. The two trade places and Sonia switches the car on. In doing this she unknowingly triggers an IED countdown. Fortunately, Sonia is part of a bomb disposal team and immediately contacts her team to get her out. But with two anxious children in the back, and an intricately installed device attached to the vehicle, the odds of everyone making it out alive are slim.
Blast takes all of the tension of the opening sequence of The Hurt Locker and distils it into a full-length feature.The set-up and early scenes harken back to the golden era of television show 24. The tension is palpable and cliffhangers between scenes leave you almost able to hear the show’s beeping clock tick. It makes for white-knuckle and intense viewing, and will most definitely keep you on the edge of your seat. Peirani-Vignes does an excellent job of building and maintaining suspense, the run-time flies past and you’re mentally right there in the car with Sonia and the kids the whole way through. Narratively, Blast flits between Sonia, Fred and Sonia’s disposal team, the audience member an extra member of the team trying to figure out how to save everyone. It’s an engaging method of story-telling, but is one that frazzles your nerves, keeps the adrenaline pumping and will occasionally leave you hardly daring to breathe for fear of disturbing something.
There’s an interesting political motivation subplot playing along in the background, but this story is all about Sonia. A working woman and mother, her two worlds collide here in disastrous ways, as she’s left with several Sophie’s choice style conundrums. Amongst all this, she’s having an internal battle between the professional and personal personas, each threatening to overthrow the other and place Sonia into a catatonic and useless state. The wrestling adds yet another layer of intensity (as if it needed it).
To break Blast down into its basic parts, it is Cujo in a carpark with a Hurt Locker explosive and a smattering of 24 style politics. A wild ride, Blast grips from the opening moments and may just be one of the most uncomfortably tense films you’ll see all year.
Blast
Summary
Great tension is built in Blast with plenty to entertain. The complete opposite of a passive watch, Peirani-Vignes’s film places the viewer into the heart of the action and sends your pulse racing with it.
Blast was reviewed at Grimmfest 2021.
