Keep An Eye Out (2018 | France | 73 minutes | Quentin Dupieux)

Set in a French police station, Louis Fugain (Grégoire Ludig) has just found a body and, under suspicion, has been brought in for questioning by Commissaire (Chief) Buron (Benoît Poelvoorde). A majority of the film is set in the one room, with Buron interrogating Fugain on his whereabouts the night he found a man lying in a pool of blood just outside his apartment building.

At times you’re left wondering if he was at the wrong place at the wrong time or if he’s truly an evil mastermind attempting to outwit a seasoned cop as Buron suspects. All this is revealed through dry, witty, and more than a little looney discourse between the two simply sitting at Buron’s desk. There’s a couple other characters that move in and out adding to the incredulity of the story but I’ll leave those little nuggets for you to discover on your own.

Twists and turns hardly describe the non-linear ride Keep An Eye Out whisks you through. It’s not that you’re shocked by things you don’t see coming, it’s the quite literal absurdity of director/writer Quentin Dupieux’s mind spilling out on the screen that leaves you baffled, delighted and laughing until the end. If you’ve seen one of Dupieux’s works already then you hardly need me to explain what it’s like experiencing this film, but I still felt a little crazy by the end shaking my head, crinkling my brow and repeating “Wait, what?” more than once. Even now I’m giggling to myself and trying to scroll through the unanswered questions in my brain and odd turn of events that make up this script. In any case, it is par for the course in charming French cinema so seek it out and join the rest of us happily bouncing in the rubber room.

Originally released in France in 2018, Keep An Eye Out (Au Paste!) sees a U.S. release in theaters and virtual cinemas on March 5th