The Agitator: Three Provocations from the Wild World of Jean-Pierre Mocky: Limited Edition – Radiance Films (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Dates: France, 1982 (Litan), France, 1984 (Kill the Referee), France, 1987 (Agent trouble)
Director: Jean-Pierre Mocky (All Films)
Cast: Marie-José Nat, Jean-Pierre Mocky, Nino Ferrer, Marisa Muxen, Bill Dunn, Georges Wod, Dominique Zardi, Sophie Edelman, Terence Montagne (Litan), Michel Serrault, Carole Laure, Eddy Mitchell, Laurent Malet, Claude Brosset, Jean-Pierre Mocky, Nathalie Colas, Géraldine Danon (Kill the Referee), Catherine Deneuve, Richard Bohringer, Tom Novembre, Dominique Lavanant, Sophie Moyse, Kristin Scott Thomas, Héléna Manson, Hervé Pauchon (Agent trouble)

Release Date: July 1st, 2024 (UK)
Approximate Running Times: 87 Minutes 38 Seconds (Litan), 84 Minutes (Kill the Referee), 90 Minutes 24 Seconds (Agent trouble)
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (All Films)
Rating: 15 (UK)
Sound: LPCM Mono French (All Films)
Subtitles: English (All Films)
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: £37.49 (UK)

Litan: "Worried by a disturbing dream, Nora wakes to find her husband missing during a trip to Litan. She goes out to find him but encounters one bizarre event after another taking place at the village festival, including uncanny acts and a masked marching band. As Nora and Jock attempt to escape the village, a series of strange murders take place against the backdrop of a mad doctor performing experiments on the recently deceased." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Kill the Referee: "When a referee calls a penalty that causes a French football team to crash out of the championship, their ultra-dedicated hooligan fans vow to track him down and murder him by the end of the evening, as Inspector Granowski (played by director Jean-Pierre Mocky) attempts to stem the carnage." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Agent Trouble: "A bus of fifty French tourists lay dead. While the driver makes a call, a wanderer, Victorien (Tom Novembre, Denti), boards the bus and robs all the passengers. Returning home he visits his aunt Amanda (Catherine Deneuve, The Hunger), and lets her in on his secret, unwittingly bringing her to the attention of icy hitman Alex (Richard Bohringer, The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover)." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5 (All Films)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfers, “Litan, Kill the Referee and Agent trouble were restored in 4K at Éclair Classics laboratory in Paris, France with support of the CNC. Each film was supervised by Mocky Delicious Projects. Litan was supplied to Radiance Films as a High-Definition file by Playtime and additional color correction was carried out by Radiance Films in 2024. Kill the Referee and Agent trouble were supplied to Radiance Films as a High-Definition files by Newen Connect.”

Litan comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 35.5 GB

Feature: 25.5 GB

Kill the Referee comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 32.3 GB

Feature: 24.4 GB

Agent Trouble comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 32.1 GB

Feature: 26.2 GB

The sources look excellent; all imperfections have been cleaned up, and the image retains an organic look. Flesh tones look healthy, colors look correct, image clarity, black levels, and compression are solid.

Audio: 5/5 (All Films)

Each film comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in French with removable English subtitles. All of the audio tracks sound excellent; dialogue always comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and ambient sounds are well-represented. 

Extras:

Extras for Litan include an archival interview with Jean-Pierre Mocky about his relationship to the fantastic (13 minutes, LPCM mono French with removable English subtitles), an archival ‘Making of Litan’ documentary from French television (26 minutes 18 seconds, LPCM mono French with removable English subtitles), and an interview with film critic Anton Bitel titled Small Town Masquerade: Love, Death and Dreams in Litan (17 minutes 29 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles).

Extras for Kill the Referee include a theatrical trailer (1 minute 42 seconds, Dolby Digital mono French with removable English subtitles), television reportage from the set of Kill the Referee (4 minutes 33 seconds, Dolby Digital mono French with removable English subtitles), an archival French TV interview with Jean-Pierre Mocky (17 minutes 42 seconds, Dolby Digital mono French with removable English subtitles), an interview with Jean-Pierre Mocky’s assistant Eric Leroy on Kill the Referee (13 minutes 54 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo French with removable English subtitles), and an interview with journalist and broadcaster Philippe Auclair who discusses Kill the Referee (17 minutes 4 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles).

Extras for Agent Trouble include a theatrical trailer (1 minute 14 seconds, LPCM mono French with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with actress Catherine Deneuve (4 minute 30 seconds, LPCM mono French with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with actor Richard Bohringer (4 minute 14 seconds, LPCM mono French with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with film historian Eric Leroy (23 minutes 10 seconds, LPCM stereo French with removable English subtitles), and an archival interview with filmmaker Olivia Mokiejewski (4 minutes 55 seconds, LPCM stereo French with removable English subtitles).

Other extras include reversible cover art, a rigid box with full-height Scanavo cases and removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings, and an 80-page booklet with cast & crew information for each film, an essay titled Teh Agitator: There’s a Madman in the House written by Roberto Curti, an essay titled The Mask of Litan written by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, an archival essay written by Serge Toubiana on Jean-Pierre Mocky titled The Wild Bunch, an essay titled Jean-Pierre Mocky the Actor-Director: The Camera Never Lies written by Nathaniel Thompson, an archival interview with Michel Serrault titled titled The Route of a Great Clown conducted by Oliver Assayas, an archival interview with Jean-Pierre Mocky conducted by Georges Choen, and information about the transfers.

Summary:

Litan: While visiting the town of Litan during its Carnival celebration, a wife has a nightmare about her husband's death.

Litan is a film firmly rooted in folk horror; it takes place in a rural, isolated location where the locals' unusual behavior is connected to glowing green worms that have infested the water. The opening moments do a phenomenal job setting the foundation for what follows. In the opening moments, the wife has a nightmare that foreshadows events. There is a carnival in which the townspeople wear masks, play instruments, and exhibit bizarre behavior, like a blind man who tries to drive a car.

The most surprising aspect of Litan is the cast's fully immersive performances. While Jean-Pierre Mocky delivers a solid portrayal of the husband, Marie-José Nat stands out with her remarkable performance as the wife. So much of what unfolds is through her character's eyes, and she delivers a remarkable performance of someone unsure of what is real and what is a dream. Another character of note is the location, which greatly adds to the atmosphere.

Besides horror, other genres that Litan veers into are fantasy and comedy. Content-wise, Litan has all of the elements that we have come to expect from French Fantastique. The black humor present in the film is often infused with social commentary. While Litan explores themes such as life, death, and the afterlife, it tends to prioritize style over substance.

The narrative quickly draws you in, and it does a phenomenal job holding your attention, building to an exceptional finale where chaos and carnage take center stage. The visuals are overflowing with atmosphere; they do an excellent job heightening the mood with forbidding imagery. Another strength is Nino Ferrer’s exemplary score, which perfectly captures the unsettling mood that lingers throughout. Ultimately, Litan is an extraordinary cinematic experience that’s infused with surrealism and gothic horror elements.

Kill the Referee: When a referee's call leads to a team losing the game, the furious hooligan fans pursue him around town, intending to harm him.

Kill the Referee, like Jean-Pierre Mocky’s other films, is rooted in satire. It is a film that takes aim at hooliganism and its connection to the sports fans. In addition to its relentless intensity, Kill the Referee skillfully utilizes black humor and social commentary.

The opening setup does a superb job laying the foundation for what follows. In the opening setup, characters and their rituals are introduced, and when a call costs a team the game, the fans become enraged. Seeking revenge on the hooligans, they attempt to confront the referee, who is with his girlfriend. From there a series of events unfolds where the referee and his girlfriend manage to stay one step ahead of the hooligans, which further enrages them.

All around, the cast are outstanding, especially Michel Serrault, who portrays Rico, the hooligans' ringleader. His character has a one-track mind to make the referee pay for costing his team the game. Another performance of note is Eddy Mitchell in the role of the referee. His character is resourceful and often outsmarts his pursuers. Other cast members of note include Jean-Pierre Mocky, who portrays an inspector, and Carole Laure (Sweet Movie), who portrays the referee’s girlfriend.

The premise is superbly realized, and the narrative does an excellent job creating tension as the hooligans' anger rises with each failed attempt to capture the referee. Pacing is never an issue as things move briskly, and the intensity never lets up for one moment. Though the visuals let the characters and their actions take center stage, the mood is perfectly reinforced by an exemplary score. Ultimately, Kill the Referee is an unflinching exploration of uncontrolled rage.

Agent Trouble: A woman looking into her nephew's death discovers a government cover-up related to toxic gas.

Although Agent Trouble features many elements characteristic of Jean-Pierre Mocky’s films, it ultimately takes on the form of an Alfred Hitchcock-style thriller. Additionally, the film's excellent mood-reinforcing score contributes to its Hitchcockian atmosphere. Agent Trouble adheres to the Alfred Hitchcock trope, where a character becomes entangled in a situation, and their only escape is to reveal the truth.

The narrative does an excellent job drawing you in with a visually arresting opening setup where the man comes across a bus with 50 dead people. Instead of reporting what he saw, he keeps quiet because he stole all their valuables. Though no one saw him, he unknowingly left evidence of his presence on that bus, which puts his life in danger.

The cast delivers excellent performances, particularly Richard Bohringer (The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover), who plays an assassin assigned to eliminate anyone with knowledge about the 50 deceased individuals on the bus. Another performance of note is Catherine Deneuve (Belle de Jour) in the role of Amanda Weber, the aunt of a man who is murdered for what he saw and took from the bus. A cast member of note is Kristin Scott Thomas (Bitter Moon) in the role of Julie; she’s Amanda Weber’s nephew’s girlfriend.

The premise is superbly realized: a character is thrown into an extraordinary situation, and their only hope for survival rests on them solving the mystery. The well-executed narrative effectively creates and builds tension, and there are an ample number of moments of misdirection. Despite a neatly wrapped-up finale, where everything perfectly comes into focus, it is clear that the cover-up continues. Ultimately, Agent Trouble is a riveting thriller that quickly draws you in and stays with you after its moment of truth.

Radiance Films’ The Agitator: Three Provocations from the Wild World of Jean-Pierre Mocky brings together three films, gives them solid audio/video presentations and a wealth of informative extras, and is highly recommended. That said, despite being released almost a year ago, The Agitator: Three Provocations from the Wild World of Jean-Pierre Mocky is a pleasant surprise that somehow flew under my radar.

 

Written by Michael Den Boer