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Amazon.co.uk Review
You wouldn't think that a movie, which mostly consists of two old guys talking could be a thriller, but that's exactly what L'Homme du Train is. French singer Johnny Hallyday plays a professional criminal who comes to a small town to take part in a robbery. By chance, he meets talkative Jean Rochefort, who invites the laconic Hallyday to stay at his house because the hotel is closed. The two form an unlikely friendship, each curious about (and envious of) the other's life. But all the while plans for the robbery continue, while Rochefort is preparing for a dangerous event of his own. The pitch-perfect performances make L'Homme du Train completely involving. Rochefort and Hallyday play off of each other beautifully; it's impossible to put your finger on what makes these subtle, supple scenes so magnetic. The whole is directed with spare authority by Patrice Leconte (La Veuve de Saint-Pierre). --Bret Fetzer
Product Description
United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: French ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), English ( Subtitles ), WIDESCREEN (2.35:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Interactive Menu, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: A mysterious stranger, Milan (Johnny Hallyday), steps off a train in a place he has never been to before. Looking for a pharmacy to buy some aspirin for a raging headache, he comes across a retired school teacher, Manesquier (Jean Rochefort). The two men are complete opposites. Or at least they seem to be. But each man realises that what he really always wanted is the life of the other man. L'Homme du Train is a comedy-drama of wit and humanity which focuses on the funny and unsentimental realisation of failure, with two commanding central performances. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: David Donatello Awards, European Film Awards, Venice Film Festival, ...Man on the Train ( L'homme du train )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
44 of 44 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
L'Homme Du Train is a quiet, subtle film about the accidental friendship between two very different men.
At first there does not seem to be much of a story to be told in this film but this is deceptive. The film delivers great performances from the two leading men, Johnny Hallyday and Jean Rochefort. There are no shocking thrills as in American cinema and yet the film is a thriller. It also manages to be a character study of two very different men. Hallyday is a bank robber (and potentially violent) and Rochefort a retired schoolteacher. Each man secretly desires the other mans life.
What kept me watching was the quietness of the film - the director obviously felt no need for background music. When no one speaks, the film is comfortable with silence. The story speaks for itself with no need for extra assistance from background music. The major and minor characters such as the bakery assistant are compelling to watch.
This film is well worth viewing and is a good example of how American and French cinema differ. This film could have been a loud, violent and visually spectaclar thriller and yet Patice Leconte has directed a more intelligent and sophisticated story which leaves the viewer with a feeling of satisfaction. The resolution of the film is ingenious and imaginative.
A sublime film!
At first there does not seem to be much of a story to be told in this film but this is deceptive. The film delivers great performances from the two leading men, Johnny Hallyday and Jean Rochefort. There are no shocking thrills as in American cinema and yet the film is a thriller. It also manages to be a character study of two very different men. Hallyday is a bank robber (and potentially violent) and Rochefort a retired schoolteacher. Each man secretly desires the other mans life.
What kept me watching was the quietness of the film - the director obviously felt no need for background music. When no one speaks, the film is comfortable with silence. The story speaks for itself with no need for extra assistance from background music. The major and minor characters such as the bakery assistant are compelling to watch.
This film is well worth viewing and is a good example of how American and French cinema differ. This film could have been a loud, violent and visually spectaclar thriller and yet Patice Leconte has directed a more intelligent and sophisticated story which leaves the viewer with a feeling of satisfaction. The resolution of the film is ingenious and imaginative.
A sublime film!
89 of 90 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
By chance, a retired teacher meets an almost retired gangster:clash of two parallele lives? No, love at first sight of each other's mystery. Each envies the life of the other, especially the teacher! I can easily understand you feel like robbing a bank or killing someone after a lifetime in the classroom. The camera work, sometimes, films the two heroes like in a spaghetti western. Johnny Halliday, the gangster, reminds me of Clint Eastwood when he is not in action but simply thinking.(close-up on the metallic blue iris) He is the man of few words but his rough presence is so powerful!. (Probably due to 40 years of successful pop concert) Jean Rochefort, the teacher, is a lovely excentric man who, like all of us, wishes to have two lives at least if not nine. It is also rare to see a small provincial French town, worts and all. For example the silly mannerism of the typical sale assistant in the baker's shop.
I would recommend the film for its effective humour, the stunning performance of the two actors, for keeping the interest of any spectator without sex, car chases or guns...Well, there are a few shots but you don't know whether they are abstract or real. A wonderful film, full of humanism
I would recommend the film for its effective humour, the stunning performance of the two actors, for keeping the interest of any spectator without sex, car chases or guns...Well, there are a few shots but you don't know whether they are abstract or real. A wonderful film, full of humanism
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
On a cold weekday a single passenger gets off the train at a French village. The hotels are closed for the season, but he meets an elderly retired school teacher who offers him shelter. The first man is Milam (Johnny Hallyday), a tough, middle-aged criminal who plans to rob the village's bank on Saturday. The other is Manesquier (Jean Rochefort), an educated, aging man of limited means who still occasionally takes in a student to tutor. He will have a triple by-pass heart operation on Saturday.
Manesquier soon learns why Milam is in town, and appears to accept this without judgment. As the days go by toward Saturday, Milam finds himself reading books from Manesquier's library, asking to wear a pair of slippers in the evening, accepting a pipe of tobacco to smoke. Once Manesquier is late and a young pupil shows up at the door. Milam takes the boy in and leads him through the assignment on Balzac. "I'll be your teacher today," he says, although he has never read Balzac. He does an excellent job of it. Manesquier tries on Milam's black leather jacket and holds the gun he finds in Milam's luggage, one of three. He visits the barber shop and asks for a haircut, something between just out of jail and soccer player. He asks Milam to teach him how to shoot, and wishes he could help in the robbery. Both men, so different from each other, accept each other for who each is. Each recognizes a longing to have led a different kind of life than what he has; in fact, to have led the kind of life that the other has led.
Saturday arrives. Manesquier goes to the hospital for the operation. Milam meets two accomplices and goes to the bank for the robbery. The conclusion of the movie is mysterious, elegant, sad and satisfying. Both men find, in a way, their new lives.
This is a movie where, for me, all the pieces fit together. Rochefort and Hallyday are excellent; both are actors who don't need dialogue to express a point. Although the movie is about paths not taken, it also has a great deal of wry humor. Manesquier is a man of few illusions, as is Milam, but he also is able to look with amusement at himself and at their situation in life. I think this is an outstanding movie. I can also recommend Leconte's Monsieur Hire, The Widow of Saint-Pierre and Ridicule.
The DVD picture and audio are all they should be.
Manesquier soon learns why Milam is in town, and appears to accept this without judgment. As the days go by toward Saturday, Milam finds himself reading books from Manesquier's library, asking to wear a pair of slippers in the evening, accepting a pipe of tobacco to smoke. Once Manesquier is late and a young pupil shows up at the door. Milam takes the boy in and leads him through the assignment on Balzac. "I'll be your teacher today," he says, although he has never read Balzac. He does an excellent job of it. Manesquier tries on Milam's black leather jacket and holds the gun he finds in Milam's luggage, one of three. He visits the barber shop and asks for a haircut, something between just out of jail and soccer player. He asks Milam to teach him how to shoot, and wishes he could help in the robbery. Both men, so different from each other, accept each other for who each is. Each recognizes a longing to have led a different kind of life than what he has; in fact, to have led the kind of life that the other has led.
Saturday arrives. Manesquier goes to the hospital for the operation. Milam meets two accomplices and goes to the bank for the robbery. The conclusion of the movie is mysterious, elegant, sad and satisfying. Both men find, in a way, their new lives.
This is a movie where, for me, all the pieces fit together. Rochefort and Hallyday are excellent; both are actors who don't need dialogue to express a point. Although the movie is about paths not taken, it also has a great deal of wry humor. Manesquier is a man of few illusions, as is Milam, but he also is able to look with amusement at himself and at their situation in life. I think this is an outstanding movie. I can also recommend Leconte's Monsieur Hire, The Widow of Saint-Pierre and Ridicule.
The DVD picture and audio are all they should be.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Funny, poignant film, but with disappointing ending.
"L'homme du train" is an unusual film. It's funny, it's poignant, it's intelligent, it certainly had us engrossed. Read more
Published 3 months ago by J. S. Hardman
An Unusual Tale
I found this dvd very intriguing. The house in the tale was very atmospheric,felt I was there walking around and could have sat down with them. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Jean Mary
Not so sure
This was another of the French Films I purchased for my A level French daughter to listed to and hear the French language being spoken. Read more
Published 7 months ago by ladyday
A well crafted character based film
L'Homme Du Train revolves around a middle aged stranger who enters a provincial French town, and after arriving on the late train can't find a place to stay. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Ernie
Perfect for a Sunday afternoon
Made us smile, made us think of old age, lost dreams and the desire to change. Great performances all round, well directed with flashes of humour.
Published on 28 Oct 2009 by Ms. Polina Kovalevska
L'Homme Du Train
A WONDERFUL FILM SHOWING THE EXPERTISE OF FRENCH FILM MAKING.THE PLOT IS EASY TO FOLLOW,WITH WIT AND HUMANISTIC FEELING. Read more
Published on 31 Aug 2009 by Mjbrassington
L'homme du train
Excellent story. Very French of course.
I wish we could switch off the subtitles or at least have the option of having them in another language.
I wish we could switch off the subtitles or at least have the option of having them in another language.
Published on 12 Aug 2009 by E. C. Moore
An interesting subject
I enjoyed this film for it's Frenchness,its honesty and fly on the wall cinematography. A good film.
Published on 9 April 2009 by Paul Morris
L'homme du train
A gem of a film.This is everything you want from a French film-slow ,atmospheric- it draws you in,Jean Rochefort is superb and so watchable as he always is ,the surprise for me was... Read more
Published on 20 Mar 2009 by Margaret Massa
Great piece of French cinema
I found this a very interesting piece of French cinema. Essentially the plot revolves around two men (Jean Rochefort and Johnny Halliday) who each have a daunting experience on the... Read more
Published on 23 Jan 2009 by Mr. S. A. Brown
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