Monsieur Hire

Men who love to much...Ouchh!!Monsieur Hire (1989-Dir Patrice Laconte). It has been mentioned that Patrice Laconte is the best example of a non-stereotyped cinema in France,(What has been colled "Cinema de Auteur") Paradoxically a citizen in the Country in which such artistic category was born. But I complete disagree with that. Man and feelings in all the small and soft variation those are the main issue of Patrice Laconte films. How is to be a man in our western societies? Tha is his main quesion to be answered along his movies. Of course as a man himself there is always a bias, but that is also part of the game. The long waiting DVD of "Monsieur Hire", is now out at the end of 2007, is almost a Christmas gift for the followers of Patrice Laconte's cinema. Monsieur Laconte is a man that lives like a shadow, he wants to be not detected, and because that he is hated. He is follow by a detective because in a case murder of a young women around the area, Monsieur Hire is the number one as the suspect list. The people around which he interact barely when it does also think that he was the murder and attacked him. He is a tailor, of Jewish origin (His grandfather and father were changed the name of Horrowitz to Hire). That also could imply another motive for to be an out-side like, why he is afraid of the surrounded and never respond to the object that people through him (Anti-Semitism in Frances in well-known in small towns). He use to attend with local prostitutes but suddenly he found that he did not want to do that any more, he didn't want to be with a women in that conditions. He already noticed that a beautiful woman lives across his wndow, Alice (Sandrine Bonnaire), of which is love platónicamente, as any person timid. But, he is not foolish and sees more, however, the idealization by "love", and by his beloved, it becomes the moral standard. That is what use to happen in early romance poems of French Provence in which to fall in love, out of marriage, with another person was an institution just because LOVE (As a mythological god). Alice notice that M.Hire is looking at her, and she start to play the old game of "female cat and male mouse" It is then that we find another topic in common in Patrice Laconte films: "Love" as feeling that catalyses what we are already, nothing more than that, by fortune! This occurs, even in the movie "Man on the train" (2002), where two men the poet and the gangster, feel love and nostalgia for the lives of each one. The poet (Jean Rochefort) by being a robber, and the thief (Johnny Hollyday), to live in a bourgeois home yhat closeness a museum museum. Monsieur Hire is a further proof that love not enough in people relationships, that one-sided love complicates (there is one of Alice with his boyfriend about such issue: " ...If you love me a little, if one loves a lot that is enough"). Because M. Hire is a sincere, loving, sentimental, and with a house of his own in Switzerland that he puts on his woman feet. So it seem the outcome in many ways of human kin evolution, about the characteristics of man, humanized by women, that is not always value by some women, blinded by another man ("The real love" of course). M. Hire is afraid of love, she loves to another guy, which is a lost case, and with which may not have a future, but she plays the chess pieces on the board. Finally we found that women in love are blindfold. Rafael J. Salin-Pascual

I watched this movie years ago, shortly after it was made, and I was happy to find it on DVD now. I always loved the use of the Brahms piano quartet no.1 in it. And also, how it portrays an unpleasant, lonely, and not very sympathetic man, who you start to like and feel empathy with as the film develops. A very touching, emotional study of the human psyche, wrapped in a captivating plot. French cinema at its best!

This is one of those great but little seen foreign films that I managed to catch on Laserdisc probably 15 years ago. Great that it's now out on DVD. Strange, different story, told well..good transfer, okay audio.

I recently found a copy of Georges Simenon's 1933 "The Engagement" on the remainder table at a local bookstore. Simenon was an extraordinarily successful writer and this work is one of his very best. The novel is a psychological thriller with outward description giving the reader's imagination just enough to build an apprehension of what seems tragically inescapable. The movie follows the novel closely, not only in characterization and plot but in the setting as well. Life the novelist, we become aware of and sympathic to the emotional and spiritual pain underlying the Monsieur Hire's life. Visual clues draw the viewer into being a knowing partner in the story, a story that could be yours or mine given the randomness of events that set our apprehension in motion. As with the novel, the movie has comparatively little dialogue leaving the flow of visual events to engage us. An excellent modern, indeed timeless, movie.

After discovering Patrice LeConte by watching "The Girl on the Bridge," I searched out his other work and came up with this. Although "Bridge" was in black and white and this one is in color, the mood of "Bridge" is light and bright while this is dark and depressing.The film is almost an hommage to Hitchcock. French directors seem to worship him. There is the beautiful, blondish young woman who seems basically clueless and gets herself into a lot of trouble. Then there is the creepy guy who loves her but not in a normal way, there is the voyeur looking out his rear window and finally, there is a hair-raising climb on a high, slippery surface. There is mystery and tension, a clever script and stylish direction. The acting is first rate as is the cinematography.For my money, however, it just isn't as enjoyable a film as "The Girl on the Bridge." For one thing, the main character, a loner, loser, M. Hire, is not very pleasant to look at. This may seem like a superficial criticism but I really believe that many people watch films because of the visual beauty, either of the scenery or the characters. Michel Blanc (well named for his blank expression---pardon me for that)has a pallid, waxen, almost dead complexion and a personality to match. His lack of affect is central to the tale, but it's not a lot of fun to watch for two hours. Also, and again, this is just my opinion, one of the things I love in French films, are the settings. I love Paris, the gorgeous old buildings, the picturesque streets, even the interior of the old apartments and the colorful, stylishly dressed folks in the strees. And the films set in the South are always a visual delight. This film appears to be set in a modern suburb, with boring modern brick apartment buildings, and frumpy looking people everywhere. Sandrine Bonnaire gives the viewers a break in the visual department--she is beautiful and takes off her clothes frequently. That helps break the dreariness of poor M. Hire. .The story is taken from a work by Simenon and although it's clever, it certainly lacks the charm, and heart of "Girl on the Bridge." There is no wit, no warmth, no fun. The characters are all people I would avoid in real life, whereas I'd love to know the two from "Bridge." In short, I appreciate the cinematic values of this film but I can't say that I enjoyed it. "Bridge" left me happy; "M. Hire" made me want to jump from a bridge. Recommended for film buffs only.

Bien emballé et en parfait état

Great film from a great period in film

This is a short tragedy about mis understanding. Perfectly told.It's fascinating that the person who made this film, and i believe the main actor mainly did comedy prior to this. There are no evil characters, each one uses the other in some way. And there is genuine affection. But the mis understanding between Hire and his neighbor Pierette has devastating consequences.You do not need to speak French to watch this film, or even subtitles.The story is told visually to a haunting Brahms soundtrack. It is quite stylised. But the acting, particular Hire who is a perplexing figure, draws you in. The performances are very human, jaw dropping at times. Not contrived like in Delicatessen.It's my Favorite French film, and if it was not so tragic, could be my favorite film. It is a bit arty, but uses film so well it's like watching an hour long painting or photograph, every scene is almost to good. Like 'Requiem for a dream' it starts like a fairy tale and lures you to a tragic ending.

Monsieur Hire is one of Georges Simenon's most fascinating narratives. The film, a remake of film made in the late 1940s, the film is carried by Sandrine Bonnaire and Michel Blanc; who plays an odd little man who is hated his by neighbours and children for his impassive nature and indifference to the world around them. Our Monsieur Hire is enthralled by Alice, who he spies on in secret and from behind the window, while Alice loves another man, who is unreliable, frivolous, and is also a murderer. Alice knows of the crime and plays a perverse game of seduction with Monsieur Hire. Thus the film unfolds as the players take on their respective mantels. The director Patrice Leconte's camera is slow as it pans on lingering fashion on faces and hand gestures of the characters. This is a truly excellent film that ticks all the boxes in my case - highly recommended.

delicato e insinuante; e per nulla scontato. ammirevole l'interpretazione del protagonista e quel senso di ricostruzione fedele di un milieu dove le stoffe sono grezze, i lavandini gocciano le camere hanno odore persistente di caffé e uovo à la coque