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Leos Carax (LOVERS ON THE BRIDGE, POLA X) updates the crime genre with MAUVAIS SANG, which stars Denis Lavant as Alex, the teenage son of a murdered gangster. Known by his father's criminal friends as Tongue-tied, Alex is recruited to steal a valuable antidote to an AIDS-like virus called STBO, in which individuals become infected when they have loveless sex. Leaving behind his girlfriend Lise (Julie Delpy), Alex settles in with Marc (Michel Piccoli) and Hans (Hans Meyer), and is immediately overwhelmed by the beauty of Marc's girlfriend, Anna (Juliette Binoche). When the time comes for Alex to steal the antidote, he now has a new reason to live; only the arrival of an aging American gangster threatens to disrupt his plans for a new life.
Though his film has all the intrigue, suspense, and car chases that are a requisite of the genre, Carax is more interested in the medium of film itself to build tension. He plays with the conventions of crime films masterfully, filling the picture with humorous asides, stunning photography (by Jean-Yves Escoffier), bravura action sequences, and thrilling musical interludes, resulting a beautiful, exciting, and romantic film that is a wholly different and extremely invigorating experience.
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In Theaters 
