For much of its running time, Jacques Audiard’s new film, “Dheepan,” is a gritty and naturalistic depiction of Tamil refugees trying to build a new life in France. That’s a long way from where the project began, as a remake of Sam Peckinpah’s violent revenge thriller, “Straw Dogs.” Audiard said, “That was the origin of the origin. At the beginning, it was a kind of vigilante movie.” The French director has long mixed genre-movie conventions and tough real-world subjects into powerful and distinctive films. “Dheepan” is part social-issues drama, as it follows former Tamil Tiger fighter Dheepan, 20-something woman Yalini and 9-year-old Illayaal, refugees from the war in Sri Lanka.
