Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Gives ironic meaning to "The Dagger in the Close of Night.", 12 Feb 2005
Michel (Laurent Lucas), a French ESL teacher on holiday with his family, unexpectedly runs into Harry (Sergi Lopez) when the family stops for lunch on the way to their remote country house. Harry recognizes Michel immediately as a former school acquaintance and the author of "The Dagger in the Close of Night," a poem Michel wrote in high school and which Harry has memorized. Michel does not remember Harry at all but invites him to spend the night with the family in the country. The relationship becomes more complex as the stay is extended, and both Michel and Harry begin to change. Suspense builds, leading to a grand climax. This darkly amusing noir drama is filled with irony. Michel and his wife Claire (Mathilde Seigner), two ordinary people, are the parents of three screaming and bickering little girls, and they never seem to get enough time together, so their invitation to Harry is surprising. They need a vacation, yet they are reluctant to ask Harry and Prune, the stereotyped, clueless blonde (Sophie Guillemin) accompanying him, to leave when they stay too long. Harry is distressed to see that Michel no longer has the leisure or the motivation to write but has no clue that this may be a choice, and he actively encourages Michel to resume writing, even while in the bathroom. Other obvious ironies evolve with ensuing events. Directed by Dominik Moll, who also wrote the screenplay with Gilles Marchand, the film develops slowly. The accident of Harry's meeting with Michel is so bizarre that the viewer may wonder if the meeting is a set-up, and Harry's motivation for his strange behavior is not completely clear, both problems creating more a sense of puzzlement than suspense. Matthieu Poirot-Delpech's cinematography of the setting in southern France and David Whittaker's romantically moody piano and string music help create a sense of mystery. Sergi Lopez is a terrific Harry, a bumbling and seemingly good-hearted admirer of Michel, and Laurent Lucas as Michel is a suitably frazzled and somewhat overwhelmed teacher on vacation. The film is fun to watch, but I found the lack of clarity regarding motivation to be a problem in the building of suspense and the black humor not strong enough to carry the rest of the film (3.5 stars) Mary Whipple
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Thoroughly enjoyable!, 28 Mar 2007
It was a happy coincidence that I saw this film, late one night on TV. I am writing a thriller and read the synopsis on here. Hoping it might inspire me ...and it did. As one of the reviewers rightly stated, the motives of Harry are unclear, however this was not an issue for me at all. The film builds tension confidently as we are drawn further and further, deeper and deeper. It seems to be labelled as a drama when in my mind it has all the callings of a thriller. It keeps you wondering every step of the way...whats going to happen next.
I have no idea what the other reviewer means by getting confused and wondering who is who...there are only a handful of characters and no room for confusion.Everything about the film is straightforward yet the motives and actions of the antagonists are not.
I highly recommend this film to anyone who likes a quiet dark thriller with a sprinkly of subtle black comedy.
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5 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Weird, 11 Jul 2001
By A Customer
This a complicated french film, not made any easier with the subtitles, but with an enthralling plot. At first it appears that a beautiful friendship will develop, but it becomes much darker..... The plot can a bit confusing to follow, trying to figure out what has happened to who, why so-and-so has done that and who was that anyway, but in the end you can see that it is quite straight forward really.Saying all that, this is a wonderful, engrossing film, with black humour a plenty and that little bit of violence that is quite unnecessary. Let's hope all the french aren't like Harry! If you haven't seen it, buy it. well worth the effort.
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