Alan Delon plays an industrialist whose dark past comes to haunt his drug addicted son, who is on trial for the murder of a police officer in Boomerang. New to Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.
The Film
Boomerang‘s theme is one of the oldest. You may be through with the past, but the past isn’t through with you. The Alain Delon-starring film treads some morally murky water to create a truly complex thriller of inherited pasts.
Jacques Batkin (Delon) is a rich businessman whose world is shattered when his son Eddy (Louis Julien), in a drug-fueled haze, kills an on-duty police officer. Batkin maneuvers to attempt to soften the charges by manipulating the police officer’s widow. Which almost works until Batkin’s own violent criminal past finds its way to the present. With fewer and fewer options, Batkin goes back to old ways to protect the one thing of value: his son.
What makes Boomerang so fascinating is also what makes it troubling. The director, Jose Giovanni, and his past collaborating with the Germans in WW2. It would not be something to bring up, but considering the film is a template of his history, it cannot help but be brought up. One can’t help but feel like Giovanni’s film wants you to side with Batkin and his son, and by default, side with him and his wrongdoings. It puts one at an odd disadvantage, especially considering that the murder that Eddy is accused of is a senseless crime.
Maybe that’s the point of Boomerang. That you’re given these moments and are either complicit or forced to reckon with. Even the way that the film ends, leaving us on a freeze frame, not showing us, but rather allowing us to decide the ending of the film. Forcing us into our own Roshak test of right and wrong and our ideas of justice. Maybe Giovanni wrestled with these notions, and this film is a personification of these feelings.
The Transfer
The 2021 4K Restoration is another beautiful transfer from Kino Lorber. There isn’t a scratch or blemish throughout the runtime of the widescreen photography by Pierre-William Glenn. The clean, sharp image’s contrast and black levels are standouts in this French crime thriller. Boomerang is another winning French genre film, transferred by Kino Lorber.
The Extras
They include the following;
- NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historians Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell, and Nathaniel Thompson
- Theatrical Trailer
The all-new Audio Commentary by Film Historians Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell, and Nathaniel Thompson opens with introductions before diving into the opening moments of kids using drugs. Some of the other details include a discussion of the film’s director, José Giovanni’s history with collaborating with the Germans during WW2; Giovanni’s career as a novelist, including the stories he told and how closely they hewed to his life, and including his films; a discussion of the collaboration and friendship between Giovanni and Alain Delon across years and multiple films; a discussion of Delon and Belmondo and what opposing types of stars they were (who Delon frequently starred with but was also compared too because they were the two biggest stars in France); the work of Delon here and how much he is possibly channeling Giovanni; the various themes that the film deals with; the lack of release, until recently, outside of the France in theaters and on home video; a discussion of the various actors that appear in the film; and much more. The trio provides another truly fascinating and informative track for a complex film.
Rounding out the special features are trailers for Boomerang (2:21); Joy House (3:21); Farewell, Friend (4:02); The Sicilian Clan (2:21); Un Flic (4:23); The Widow Couderc (2:47); Half a Chance (2:17); Last Known Address (3:59)
The Final Thought
Kino Lorber’s curation of great French crime thrillers extends to Boomerang. Recommended!!!
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Alan Delon plays an industrialist whose dark past comes to haunt his drug addicted son, who is on trial for the murder of a police officer in Boomerang. New to Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.
The Film
Boomerang‘s theme is one of the oldest. You may be through with the past, but the past isn’t through with you. The Alain Delon-starring film treads some morally murky water to create a truly complex thriller of inherited pasts.
Jacques Batkin (Delon) is a rich businessman whose world is shattered when his son Eddy (Louis Julien), in a drug-fueled haze, kills an on-duty police officer. Batkin maneuvers to attempt to soften the charges by manipulating the police officer’s widow. Which almost works until Batkin’s own violent criminal past finds its way to the present. With fewer and fewer options, Batkin goes back to old ways to protect the one thing of value: his son.
What makes Boomerang so fascinating is also what makes it troubling. The director, Jose Giovanni, and his past collaborating with the Germans in WW2. It would not be something to bring up, but considering the film is a template of his history, it cannot help but be brought up. One can’t help but feel like Giovanni’s film wants you to side with Batkin and his son, and by default, side with him and his wrongdoings. It puts one at an odd disadvantage, especially considering that the murder that Eddy is accused of is a senseless crime.
Maybe that’s the point of Boomerang. That you’re given these moments and are either complicit or forced to reckon with. Even the way that the film ends, leaving us on a freeze frame, not showing us, but rather allowing us to decide the ending of the film. Forcing us into our own Roshak test of right and wrong and our ideas of justice. Maybe Giovanni wrestled with these notions, and this film is a personification of these feelings.
The Transfer
The 2021 4K Restoration is another beautiful transfer from Kino Lorber. There isn’t a scratch or blemish throughout the runtime of the widescreen photography by Pierre-William Glenn. The clean, sharp image’s contrast and black levels are standouts in this French crime thriller. Boomerang is another winning French genre film, transferred by Kino Lorber.
The Extras
They include the following;
The all-new Audio Commentary by Film Historians Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell, and Nathaniel Thompson opens with introductions before diving into the opening moments of kids using drugs. Some of the other details include a discussion of the film’s director, José Giovanni’s history with collaborating with the Germans during WW2; Giovanni’s career as a novelist, including the stories he told and how closely they hewed to his life, and including his films; a discussion of the collaboration and friendship between Giovanni and Alain Delon across years and multiple films; a discussion of Delon and Belmondo and what opposing types of stars they were (who Delon frequently starred with but was also compared too because they were the two biggest stars in France); the work of Delon here and how much he is possibly channeling Giovanni; the various themes that the film deals with; the lack of release, until recently, outside of the France in theaters and on home video; a discussion of the various actors that appear in the film; and much more. The trio provides another truly fascinating and informative track for a complex film.
Rounding out the special features are trailers for Boomerang (2:21); Joy House (3:21); Farewell, Friend (4:02); The Sicilian Clan (2:21); Un Flic (4:23); The Widow Couderc (2:47); Half a Chance (2:17); Last Known Address (3:59)
The Final Thought
Kino Lorber’s curation of great French crime thrillers extends to Boomerang. Recommended!!!
Kino Lorber’s Blu-ray Edition of Boomerang is out now.
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