(THE MAN ON THE TRAIN
2002

June 11, 2003
Towne Theater
France / Germany / UK
French
90 minutes

A Poet. A Thief. Two Strangers With Nothing In Common Are About To Trade Their Lives For A Chance To Cheat Their Destinies. -- THE MAN ON THE TRAIN.

Patrice Leconte is some kind of director. He directed THE WIDOW OF ST. PIERRE, THE GIRL ON THE BRIDGE, RIDICULE, and one of my top ten little-knowns, MONSIER HIRE. No one captures the feeling of isolation, the idea that a person is existing within his or her own space, like he does. The characters don't need words. The world is full of outcasts, we just don't often see them in the movies.

In this one, which is slow moving, and basically involves only two people, a drifter stays with a retired teacher in the large home he inherited. The drifter doesn't speak much, the older man never shuts up. They begin to wish that they had led a different life, more like the other one. The teacher is tired of being afraid and staying quiet around bullies. The thief would like nothing than to read the hundreds of books in the teacher's study while wearing slippers.

This could easily have fallen into one of those opposites getting their feet wet in new lives types of comedies. But we can see the feelings of regret behind their eyes. They can both offer the other some good growth. Which they do.

I saw this in an artsy theater with loud popcorn crunching alone back row guy, snoring asian guy who didn't seem to speak english, tall guy trying to impress girlfriend with cinema knowledge, and an entire group of people who may have inhaled laughing gas before entering the theater. This is usually a recipe for a non-stop rant to friends, but this film sort of overpowered the terrible audience. Plus, even voracious talkers can't talk while reading subtitles. Quiet, please.

**** Ebert
*** Berardinelli

7.0 Critical Consensus