filmalamosa A WWII dark story by Graham Greene (who also wrote the Third Man).A prisoner makes a deal with another prisoner to save himself from being executed they swap places in exchange for everything the one owns including a secluded mansion.I won't spoil the story or bore you (if you have seen it) with more of the plot.It is well done...the acting good...the screen adaptation of the book not ponderous like they sometimes are trying to cram too much in.Anthony Hopkins like Anthony Perkins before him was type caste by one horror role. This younger version of him makes it easier to forget.A good watch. RECOMMEND.

Robert J. Maxwell I was surprised at how gripping this story turned out to be. I've never been that fond of Graham Greene. Somebody commits a sin, mopes around feeling gloomy, and it all ends unpleasantly. That happens here, too, but the plot is lifted out of the ordinary by the simplicity of the story and the splendid acting.Anthony Hopkins commits a sin -- I guess. It's a sin I would have jumped to commit myself. He's one of about two dozen prisoners in a Nazi cell in France, three of whom must be chosen by lot for execution. Hopkins draws one of the three X's. He's scared witless and offers his estate, lands, money, and all other properties to anyone who will take his place. A young man accepts the offer in the name of his sister, Kristin Scott Thomas, and their mother -- two poor people living near Paris -- then goes to his death.After his release, Hopkins wanders around and, with no particular place to go, winds up at his old estate, now dilapidated. Thomas and her moribund mother live there. They reluctantly invite him in and he winds up being the caretaker.The problem is that Thomas knows all about the transfer of the estate and she hates Hopkins real character for buying his own life at the expense of her brother's. She has a pistol stashed away, hoping he'll show up so she can shoot him. Hopkins tells her nothing of his real identity, only claiming to have been in the same prison with Kristin's brother and having witnessed the transfer.The old lady is bitter but in a very human way. Hopkins finds himself enjoying his new role in his old home. And Thomas gradually warms towards him -- still ignorant of who is really is. The mansion and its grounds begin to take on a more respectable appearance.So far, so expectable. But then an impostor, Derek Jacobi, shows up claiming to be the original Hopkins. In reality, he's a nobody, thoroughly evil -- a collaborator, murderer, and accomplished liar. He invents all sorts of stories to glorify himself and to undermine Hopkins' status in the household and in Thomas's eyes.I don't think I'll give away too much more of the plot. The man incapable of feeling guilt squares off against the man dying from a surfeit of it. Let's say that Hopkins does his penance and it's more demanding than one Our Father and Ten Hail Marys.Hopkins gives one of his most striking performances. Not nearly as splashy as "The Silence of the Lambs" but at least as effective. He rarely does what we'd expect from a more routine enactment of his roles. I'll give one example. He and Thomas are alone in the kitchen of the big run-down estate, and she has just discovered one of Hopkins' lies -- a little one -- and she accuses him. Hopkins stares quietly back for a second, then drops his face and brings his fist to his mouth to gnaw a bit at his knuckle or fingernail, just like a man jostling along in a crowded subway might do in a state of mild distraction. Absolutely without bravura, and yet perfectly apt.Derek Jacobi looks right for the part of the very villainous heavy, in that his appearance is bland and his manner tentative except when it slides into deliberate slime. Nice job.Kristin Scott Thomas is a fine actress but she may not belong in the part of a superstitious working-class peasant. She's neatly groomed. Her cool blue eyes glow with intelligence. And her features are clean and even. She has the face of one of those exceptionally efficient nurses who know everything that's going on in the ward. I can't imagine her fingernails ever having been dirty.All around, a memorable job by everyone concerned.

verbusen I just want to add a little balance to the glowing reviews here saying this one of Anthony Hopkins "best". Ummm, I don't think so, and it's not his doing. The Tenth Man starts out with a LOT of promise as Hopkins character a French Lawyer is rounded up in a hostage sweep by the Nazi's on the streets of Paris. Now I guess that could have happened but something tells me even Nazi's aren't that stupid to take one of the french upper crust in a hostage sweep and why after he was forced to go to the castle prison someone didn't come to get him out, I guess poor planning on his part not to have a contingency for that. Anyway he is in a cell with other hostages used as reprisal against the resistance. Not long after he is imprisoned the Nazi's call for every tenth man to be taken out and shot and the Nazi's the sadists they are tell the prisoners to chose. Hopkins draws the lot and pleads for mercy, and than offers his rich estate to anyone who will take his place. A young drifter takes his offer, does an impromptu will and gets shot in the morning. About 3 years later Hopkins is out of prison finally because France has been liberated (yeah I know, they were shooting guys 2 days into his captivity and somehow he makes it through 3 years, go figure). Hopkins is a wreck of a man goes back to his estate, tries to live there as a landscaper and falls in love. The girl there, the dead guys sister, has a burning passion to see the guy who "killed" her brother, she hates him with all get out. Anyway, after the prison scenes which are maybe 20 minutes, its 80 minutes of a really drawn out melodrama. The sisters character has absolutely no pity for why they got in this situation and blames only the rich guy, the rich guy is scared to tell her the truth, some others come along to expose him, she after living with this guy a long time still has no sympathy for him, the bad tattletale shoots Hopkins in the heart, and I just saved you 100 minutes to do other things. I guess a chick wartime flick but with the sister being such a b##ch it was hard to get into it, I am glad I watched the ending though so I could see how it all turned out, not pretty. Definitely NOT Hopkins best but he is of course good, its just the script that sucks. I recommend "Random Harvest" for a better watch pertaining to war, lost identities, and love.

miniwidge I remembered this movie (and subsequently ordered it) because of Anthony Hopkins' incredible role. When I received it from my movie retailer, I realized that the other actor in it was Derek Jacobi, who has become my favorite actor of all time. To top it off, the woman is Kristin Scott-Thomas who hadn't come into her own yet. This is an amazing cast, from a novel from an amazing author. Watch it! Watch it!