Despite the title, I don't recall hearing a word of French in the whole 122 minutes. It's set in Austria, so most of the dialogue is in German. Be warned: The first several lines do not get subtitles. I suspect they're in Ukrainian, given the recent immigration of one character.
Brothel bouncer Alex (Johannes Krisch) is so taken with prostitute Tamara (Irina Potapenko) that he robs a bank to pay off her debts. He's pretty cautious as solo robbers go, but his illegal parking draws the attention of policeman Robert (Andreas Lust). In the ensuing chaos, Alex escapes, but Robert accidentally kills Tamara (at least he doesn't try to hide his culpability), causing Alex's interest in revanche.
From that point on, perspective largely alternates between Alex and Robert. Alex has no idea how obsessively guilt-ridden Robert is. It has affected the officer's job performance and his relationship with his wife, Susanne (Ursula Strauss). We never do find out how he missed the mark by such a wide margin; my guess is that he fired too rapidly to account for recoil.
So what does Alex do while laying low? Stay at the rural home of his fading grandfather, Hausner (Hannes Thanheiser), and help with the firewood. The movie in general is rather slow, but given how long we spend watching Alex use the circular saw and later an axe, I suspect that we're supposed to read increasing murderous intent into his actions. No, neither tool is Chekhov's gun, so to speak.
As luck would have it, Susanne is a friend of Hausner. Alex is uneasy in her presence and thus unfriendly, but that doesn't stop her from seducing him. Yeah, the rather graphic sex scenes don't end at the brothel. I can only imagine what's going through each of their minds.
Intellectually, it's not a complex plot. The real strength comes in the emotions. They're not over the top like you might expect from Hollywood; they tend to simmer, quietly yet unmistakably. I hardly cared which direction they went as long as they remained subtly sensational.
One factor I didn't consciously notice until near the end was the complete lack of background music throughout. Only when Hausner gets out his accordion do we hear any music. Sure, he does it more often now that he's freed from lumber duty, but it accounts for few scenes. While polka isn't my genre, I approve the choice of silence otherwise. It adds serious realism and expresses trust that the viewers will pick up on the intended feelings.
The other recurring element that I caught was a matter of religion. Christian iconography appears in several places, even at the bank. Only Alex professes to be a non-Christian, apparently an atheist. Does this affect the story? Well, you might see it as going well with his criminal history, but Susanne is confident that her god will "understand" her adultery. Perhaps the point is that religiosity makes little difference for our nonritual behavior.
Revanche is good enough to recommend, provided that you have the patience for not much happening on the surface and not much resolution. It may be worth noting that the title can also translate to "second chance." Why not give it a first chance?
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