Alexander (Jeremy Chabriel) has come of age in a guarded and unusual community run by a charismatic polygamist (Vincent Cassel) who trains his charges to be assassins in what is either a post-apocalyptic or at least post-economic-collapse world. Shortly after turning eleven, Alexander begins to question his father figure and the violence he is forced to commit. Partisan is a highly atmospheric and distinctive film. Its suspense is slowly burning, but potent. Cassel defies expectations; rather than deliver a wild-eyed and brutal performance à la his memorable turn in Eastern Promises, he imagines an outwardly genial cult leader whose brooding malevolence is always disguised by a calm and fatherly exterior. The result is quietly hair-raising. Also fantastic is first-time actor Chabriel, using his expressive eyes to chart the evolution of his character's burgeoning conscience. And the film, partly shot in the Eastern European country of Georgia as well as in its native Australia, excels at world building. With their dusty courtyards, exposed wiring, and mismatched furniture, the environments evocatively suggest a bombed-out and then hastily reassembled Third World city.

A-