Red Lights

One summer mid-afternoon, Antoine leaves his insurance firm job to meet up with his wife Hélène. They plan to fetch their kids and then drive to the Basque Country for a two-week vacation with the in-laws. They want to beat the traffic, since the road is expected to be clogged with cars, and they book a meeting at a local bar to coordinate the trip. Right away, the mood is tense: Hélène arrives late, and it becomes clear their relationship has carried friction for some time.

As they hit the road, the simmering annoyance between them grows. Hélène suggests a quick shower and a light dinner at home before continuing, which irritates Antoine further. They finally set out again, but the traffic slows them to a crawl, pushing Antoine to abandon the highway and take what he calls “the back way” toward Tours. Though tired, he resists letting Hélène drive, and their bickering escalate. Along the way, he stops several times at small bars for a drink or two while she waits in the car, the tension mounting with each stop. The more he drinks, the more the dispute deepens, and at a breaking point, he warns that he could drive off and have her catch the train later. He snatches the car keys and goes inside a bar, where a TV news item about an escaped prisoner flickers on the screen.

When he finally returns to the car, Hélène is gone, leaving only a note: “I’m taking the train.” Frantically, Antoine races to the nearest station to search for her, but the last train has already departed. He presses on to the next stop, but a police checkpoint slows him down as officers hunt for the fugitive. After midnight, still unsure, he sinks into another bar, trying to drown the unease he feels. There, a large, quiet man in the shadows doesn’t seem inclined to chat, and the moment passes uneasily.

Outside, the same large man reappears, asking for a ride toward Bordeaux, and Antoine agrees. As they ride, the realization dawns that the man is the escaped convict from the news, a revelation that strangely fascinates Antoine with a sense of admiration for the man’s supposed independence. They pass through another checkpoint, the tension barely contained. At a gas stop, Antoine buys a small bottle of whiskey and downs most of it, while the convict grows irritated by the drinking. The man dozes, and Antoine, in a daze, drifts off the road, forcing a flat tire. The convict rouses him to change it, but Antoine collapses again. The convict wakes him and they continue toward Bordeaux, until the convict abruptly diverts off the main road, sparking a heated dispute.

Things take a brutal turn when the convict forces Antoine from the car and drags him into the woods, leaving him to fear for his life. In a desperate moment, Antoine grasps a tire jack and, in a final struggle, defeats the convict to death. He tries to flee, but the car is left disabled, and he must hitchhike into town to begin repairing the mess he’s made.

Back at home, Antoine makes more than a dozen frantic calls to locate Hélène, and at last he learns she has been hospitalized after a violent incident at the Poitiers train station. He goes to the hospital, where police lieutenant Levet informs him that Hélène was beaten, robbed, and raped by the dangerous convict, whose body has since been found. Antoine explains the events between them, but he omits the details of his own perilous encounter. The lieutenant, sensing foul play, chooses not to press the matter further.

In the quiet that follows, Antoine experiences a troubling nightmare that underscores the moral weight of what has happened. When he finally sees Hélène, he offers a sincere apology, and the two of them begin to process the ordeal together. Their bond deepens as they acknowledge the harm and the love they still share. After another day passes, they leave the hospital to retrieve their children, and the closing image returns them to a country road, driving forward with a fragile but renewed sense of calm and possibility.

Make it fast and clean; I don’t want to suffer.

Last Updated: November 22, 2025 at 15:57