When I interviewed genre-film power couple Michael Biehn and Jennifer Blanc-Biehn a couple of weeks ago, one of the experiences they both mentioned repeatedly was working with French filmmaker Xavier Gens on his upcoming apocalyptic "morning after" flick, The Divide.
Gens is probably best known for his brutal 2007 political horror film, Frontier[s], which he followed up with Hitman, a video game movie that found Gens in totally unfamiliar territory — Hitman was his first English language film, as well as his biggest budget project, and also marked his first experience working for a major studio, 20th Century Fox, which rejected his cut of the flick and reshot large portions of it.
So, it's probably no coincidence that The Divide finds Gens back in lower-budget indie territory, which is likely just where he wants to be. The film premiered last March at Austin's South By Southwest fest, where its U.S. distribution rights were quickly acquired by Anchor Bay.
Starring Michael Biehn, Rosanna Arquette, Milo Ventimiglia, Lauren German, Iván González, Jennifer Blanc-Biehn and Courtney B. Vance, The Divide follows a group of New Yorkers as they struggle with survival following what politicians would undoubtedly refer to as an "atomic event." Just when these poor souls need it the most, help arrives…or does it? Yes, it's out of the frying pan and into the nuclear fire for the surviving survivors of The Divide.
Opening January 13, 2012, The Divide is being hailed as a violent, challenging film — as bleak as it is brilliant — featuring a dynamite performance from Michael Biehn. During our recent chat, Biehn mentioned often his great respect for Gens, whose filmmaking advice played a big part in Biehn's work on The Victim, his kickass directorial debut.
Personally, I'm not sure how I'll feel about The Divide. I do admire Gens' ability and while I wasn't a huge fan of Frontier[s], I actually liked Hitman more than I expected to. (Admittedly, I don't know how I feel about what that sentence says about me.) Also, I'm not a big fan of the post-apocalyptic subgenre. But I have to admit, the trailer for The Divide looks gorgeous, full of striking imagery and compelling performances. Plus, there's blatant Biehn-age.
I think the flick's tagline tells you all you need to know: "The lucky ones died in the blast." If you're in the mood for a well-made movie that can be summed up that way, I imagine The Divide is the movie you're looking for…I just don't know if I want to see that movie.
When I interviewed genre-film power couple 
