VIDEO
Sweat

Starring: Jean-Hugues Anglade, Joaquim De Almeida, Cyrille Thouvenin and Sagamore Stevenin
CDA Entertainment
Rental

RV630538
Certificate: 15
Available now


Four men drive a truck containing a mysterious cargo across the desert to a rendezvous known only to one of them. Curiosity getting the better of them, they discover countless bags of gold coins. The find exacerbates their clash of personalities, so that it's every man for himself as greed becomes the prime motive...

Oh... dear! [Can you be a little more specific? - Ed]. I had high hopes for this film, but two minutes in I knew we were in trouble. I expected Sweat to emulate the style of Mad Max, or more accurately its first sequel, The Road Warrior. That wouldn't necessarily have been a bad thing, providing it had something new to say; however, I don't think it's unreasonable to state that Sweat isn't even fit to be described in the same sentence as Mad Max.

The movie suffers from two fundamental setbacks. First, the plot, or lack thereof. The only reason why the film lasts more than 20 minutes is because of a half-hearted attack by two jeeps, an overheated radiator, a stopover at a camouflaged camp, and numerous arguments and cheap explosions. Second, the presence of an aggravating Frenchman. This character doesn't work as a tough guy, and has no clear-cut motive for acting the way he does. He seems to be annoying purely for the sake of being annoying. It would make more logical sense for him to use his companions, before dispatching them close to the destination.

It's not often I feel cheated out of time by watching a film (I'm pretty open-minded about most things); here I had to force myself to watch to the conclusion, hoping for a twist or revelation that just might bring it to life and make the whole thing worthwhile.

Oh, well. Hope springs eternal.

Ty Power