museumofdave
Two older men towards the end of their lives, meet, become friends of a sort, and part. Not the usual cheerer-upper for the Multiplex, but a thoughtful, intimate and often strange film from quirky director Patrice Lecomte; many of the reviews you may read use the word melancholy, and it is that--but in its careful observation of the habits and haunts of these men, it is also quietly funny, from the obvious parody of Spaghetti Westerns transferred to a moribund French village, to the purveyor of baguettes who always queries if " there be anything else?"Man On The Train is a film about friendship, about the value we put on our lives, about last minute regrets, about a lot more than the sound of the train on tracks that frequently haunts the film, mixing with a muted, mysterious soundtrack. Like Lecomte's quietly observant and haunting "The Hairdresser's Husband," this is an oddity whose difference makes it memorable viewing.
jimmydavis-650-769174
I immensely enjoyed this film, albeit for somewhat shameful reasons! It is rather clichéd, has many inconsistencies and unlikely plot devices, however it is also knowing, charming and unapologetically French. Whilst it will not become one of my favoured films as the characters are a little weak and as i've said the story is rather sentimental I got a great deal of pleasure watching it.This is just the sort of drama American studios seem unable to make and this is why this slender little film punches so far above it's weight. Undoubtedly 'non actor' Hallyday would run rings around a great many of Hollywood's sons. The beginning and end of the film were the highlights, although I feel better use could have been made of the train and it's journey as a vehicle for the themes explored.
lastliberal
Pascal Estève's music makes this film feel like a Western. Small French city, no movement in the streets, and two men meet.Johnny Hallyday, considered the French Elvis, plays Milan, a bank robber, who is bored with his life.Jean Rochefort, nominated for six Césars and winning two (Let Joy Reign Supreme and The Crab-Drum) plays Monsieur Manesquier, a retired French teacher who is thoroughly bored with his life.As the two men converse (mostly Manesquier), it is apparent that they may be suited for each other's lives.As they plan and ponder, one ends up in the hospital and the other does the job. The ending was brilliant, whether real or imagined.Patrice Leconte (Girl on the Bridge, Monsieur Hire, The Hairdresser's Husband, My Best Friend) directs brilliantly as he always does. I have never been disappointed in any of his films.
christopher-underwood
Excellent, well paced, beautifully shot, intelligently scripted film that could have only come out of France. Without becoming sentimental, except perhaps for part of the ending, this is an engrossing tale that begins with two completely different men meeting as they leave a pharmacy. Jean Rochefort as the hermit like villager in his ramshackle mansion, is of course immaculate and convincing from the start but Johnny Hallyday as the man who has arrived by train for a few days is a revelation. The film tells of the relationship of the two men as it develops over those couple of days, in fact and in their imagination. The fact that Hallyday is in this village to meet up with fellow baddies and hold up the local bank is at once central and yet almost irrelevant as the main two characters psyche become entwined. Great film making and whilst I find the start of the end fine, as others have mentioned it does go a little too far and considering the beauty and measured pace of the rest of the film, I do consider, at least the very end to be a mistake. It does not, however, spoil the delight that this film is.
AD
