La máquina

Dr. Lacroix (Depardieu) has constructed a machine which will allow him to exchange personalities with one of his patients, a misogynistic multiple murderer (Bourdon).

This thriller is a variation on the Frankenstein theme with the monster as a serial killer's mind unleashed in a psychologist's body. The film is under-budgeted and reliant on dialogue as many French films are. It can all seem a little overwrought and contrived at times, but still it's fairly good.

Depardieu is convincing in the different personalities he has to affect. He is united with his frequent costar Nathalie Baye, although her role is a small one this time. There is even a very faint echo of the "What makes a marriage?" theme from their earlier film Le retour de Martin Guerre. So faint you probably won't notice.

It's my first day on IMDb and my first move here will be to say to the world how awful is this movie. The worst i have ever seen in my life (and i used to be an horror picture fan so you can believe me, i have seen real Z movies). In La Machine, Depardieu plays like a puppet and Didier Bourdon is so ridiculous i felt ashamed for him, I really felt the Chill of Shame. Thanks God, the scenario worth nothing so nothing is wasted.

this film is superb. I found the idea excellent and do not remember having seen something like it. Depardieu is brilliant as usual one would say; he deserves very special acknowledgment for this film where his talent is more than useful and very well utilized. Didier Bourdon is also very good in a part quite different from what he usually does; he shows in this film that he can be much more of an actor than what he has be doing for years with Les Inconnus on the funny side (although this was very good too); Nathalie Baye is a good an actor as she is beautiful, and the little boy (Erwan Baynaud) should not be forgotten; he was only 11 when he played this film. This film should be much more famous and appreciated. I first saw it around 1995 when it first came out, and saw it again today (feb 2005) with the same pleasure. It definitely is one of the 12 best films I know.

This was one of those rare cases in which the opposite occurs: a movie that should have been stupid and hokey but turned out to be well-done and a good thriller. Yes, a very pleasant surprise.

A man invents a machine which can switch the inward beings (at least the brain) of two humans so....the doctor winds up being a killer while the killer becomes him, the doctor in actions and thoughts. This "fact" is hidden because the two people still have the old face and body of the person they used to be, so no one else can see the two people have switched "identities.""

Anyway.....there is very good suspense in this film as the good guy tries to save his wife and family from being killed by the deranged human. Yeah, I know....it sounds confusing and stupid, but it isn't. The film also boasts a few shocking scenes and twists at the end. Recommended.

Since the movie was made in 1994, it's difficult to say that the plot was inspired by the brilliant movie "Face Off", made in 1997. Nevertheless, while you're watching the movie, you can't help thinking about the 1997 John Woo movie where the main character trade place with a dangerous killer. In both movies, the "bad guy" ends up sleeping with the "hero"'s wife, he threatens the "hero"'s wife and kid. They also switch lives where the hero ends up in jail (or asylum) and the bad guy enjoy a comfortable life in a beautiful house, next to the hero's wife and kid. "The Machine" doesn't have the juice of "Face Off" because they don't go deeply into everyone's personality and life. It seems like a shallow replicate of the John Woo movie without the special effects and cinematography. Good luck !