The Ax

Bruno Davert has spent years as a loyal manager at a paper plant, until a restructuring costs him his job along with many of his colleagues. Confident that his experience will quickly land him something comparable, he treats the setback as temporary. Two years of fruitless applications prove otherwise, and the strain of a household running on his wife's two jobs begins to wear on their marriage.

Convinced that only the number of other candidates stands between him and a position, Bruno settles on a drastic solution: eliminating his competition one by one, with the aim of clearing his path back to steady work.

Costa-Gavras directed and co-wrote the screenplay with Jean-Claude Grumberg; the producers include Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne. The film followed Amen. in Costa-Gavras's filmography and came before Capital. José Garcia leads as Bruno, with Karin Viard as his wife Marlène and Ulrich Tukur, Olivier Gourmet, Yvon Back and Thierry Hancisse among the cast.

Made for around 5 million dollars, the film took in a similar amount worldwide. On IMDb it holds a 7.2 rating from five critics' reviews, while on TMDB it sits at 6.9 from roughly 230 votes, indicating a modest but positive reception across both.