Two young French men sit at a café in mid-conversation. Basile (Thomas Suire) describes to Igor (Thomas Blanchard) an unsettling dream that he had the night before. In it, a mysterious, god-like specter by the name of FaftaoLaoupo warned him that the next time he falls asleep he “will never wake up.” Basile says that he intends to fight sleep and cheat death for as long as he can. Sometime later, Igor travels to Basile’s small village to follow-up on his progress. He has a conversation with Basile’s mother, who has no idea where her son is. She goes on to describe their fractured relationship; how he will leave home for months at a time without warning. Days after their conversation, Igor returns to the café and hears about a terrible massacre in Basile’s village of Souleilhes. He learns that everyone in the small community died, save for an old couple and a baby. He travels to Souleihes to check on the fate of his sleep-deprived acquaintance. There he meets journalist Johny Got (Laurent Soffiati) who also appears to be interested in Basile (who does not appear on the death list). Both men later find themselves at Basile’s empty home; spurring a conversation about his guilty behavior. Suddenly, both men are violently shot and killed by Basile brandishing a shotgun. What follows is a series of alternate/dream realities where our protagonist changes into another enigmatic character named Hector. Alternately running from (and running with) different personas of Johny Got, Basile/Hector experiences several life-changing events. Morphing from existential youth drama into comedic road movie (and several detours in between) “No Rest” touches upon several film genres; refusing to choose a particular style or tone.

“No Rest for the Brave” is the kind of film that might benefit from repeated viewings. Much of the subtitled dialogue is hard to follow. Seemingly inconsequential exchanges are delivered quickly and the text at the bottom of the screen follows at a rapid-fire pace. Not that following the dialogue would make the odyssey any more coherent. Situations and characters change in a very meditative yet naturalistic fashion; blurring the lines of dream and reality. A more seasoned director might have been able to pull this off with a modicum of suspense, but Alain Guriaudie (making his debut here) is more concerned with theme and subtext than storytelling. Subtext is extremely difficult to convey without a cohesive narrative. The screenplay, credited to Guiraudie and Frederic Videau, manages to be both vague and verbose. David Lynch’s similar “Mulholland Drive,” managed to tackle many of the same themes with a tricky narrative structure (complete with character shifts) without sacrificing drama or coherency.

What does work are the wonderful performances that Guriaudie is able to finesse from his supporting cast. While lead Suire’s character(s) remain enigmas throughout, the characters that populate the real/dream states are quite touching. Vincent Martin, Pierre-Maurice Nouvel and Jean-Claude Baudracco (all father figures) manage to give touching performances despite their ethereal material. The cinematography by Antoine Heberle also adds great weight (and even coherency) to the evolving tone and narrative. The French landscape in “No Rest” is one of the more intriguing “characters;” beautifully captured by Heberle’s unassuming lens.

This DVD from TLA Releasing is part of their wonderful International Film Festival line. A line responsible for bringing several great foreign titles to the U.S., including the intriguing Spanish thriller “Box 507” (see Monsters review). The picture quality for “No Rest” is pristine; presented in Anamorphic 16:9 with vibrant color and clarity. The Dolby Digital mix is also very clear with a nice emphasis on the textured ambient sounds. Extras include four trailers for the International Film Festival line and a short photo gallery.

“No Rest for the Brave” is a mix of several intriguing elements that never really come together. Some of the story fragments are compelling, especially the mystery that is introduced in the opening. Unfortunately, the intriguing machinations of the first few minutes are quickly forgotten within the many dreamscape detours. Great performances and a naturalistic visual tone save the film from total mediocrity.