L’Homme Du Train (The Man on the Train)

Jean Rochfort, Johnny Halliday

Date: 01 March, 2004   —   £8.97   —   DVD / VHS

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Rating:

Synopsis – A chance meeting in a Chemists leads to 2 men speculating what their lives would have been like had they been in each others shoes.

I thoroughly enjoyed L’Homme du Train and I think it was vital that it was subtitled rather than dubbed. The dialogue is excellent Rochfort is the epitomy of the retired literature teacher and Hallyday, known better in France as a pop star, had the right level of depth to be sinister but interesting. I liked the storyline it’s the sort of premise that I can see Hollywood doing a shit version of in 10 years! The ending is unexpected and quite twisty. All in all it has humour, suspense and sensitivity and the examination of men in later life is superbly portrayed.

If you see any French film this year I’d make sure it was this one. You won’t be disappointed.

One thing I would like to know if there are any French people out there, the English translation of the title sounds wrong to me -‘Du Train’ would surely mean of the train or from the train whereas on the train would be ‘sur le train’? Just a bit of linguistic pendantry I know but it interests me.