Rückkehr eines Toten

This is Yves Montand's next-to -last film and it is a muddled affair:based on a Jorge Semprun novel,the movie is a hotchpotch ,a dreadfully boring story :Yves Montand is at the head of the DST (=MI5 -brit- =CIA -US-)and he has got big problems with his son (Vincent Lindon)who was once a revolutionary (shades of May 68 )and now tries to redeem himself by thwarting the terrorists' ominous plans;his former mates (including Miou-Miou) have become notables and some feel nostalgic for the years when they fought against the establishment. (that always wins in the end,as everybody knows).

Vincent Lindon ,wearing glasses,gives a wooden performance ,and it is obvious he is much better today:he is deeply moving in "welcome" for instance.Montand does not seem to care much for his prodigal son.

Directed by the late Jacques Deray, this forgotten movie is up there with the director's best work. Maybe not in the same league with "La Piscine" and "Flic Story", but on the same level with one of my favorites, "Trois Hommes Abattre".

The movie was a flop when it came out because dealing with terrorism it coincided with a string of terrorist attacks in France and because the french crime thriller ("le polar") was becoming out of fashion. But it's a great film with a superb performance by the wonderful Yves Montand, one of is last.

There is only a french DVD without any subtitles and it's very hard to find online. Hope some day it'll came out on BLU Ray.

A forgotten gem. One of the last great "polars".