Ballad for a Hoodlum

Bonnardot was obviously anxious to prove that he too could be like the big boys of the New Wavelet;seen today his "Ballade pour un Voyou" sounds like a parboiled cross between Godard 's notorious "A Bout de Soufflé" and "the transporter" this mediocre Luc Besson production.

Vincent Vivant (=Vincent Alive") has to cross a boarder with a suitcase containing a very special thing.And of course he must not open this piece of luggage for it might explode and make mincemeat of him.But as anyone past infancy knows(or should know),rules are made to be broken,so..

The actors cannot make up for the paucity of the script which features undecipherable scenes at the airport.Laurent Terzieff and German thespian Hildegarde Knef have (so to speak) one scene together in all;Philippe Noiret is wasted as a cop who tries to save the hoodlum.