Deux heures à tuer

Two Hours to Kill is essentially a play, adapted for the cinema, where the plot focuses almost exclusively on a waiting room of a small provincial railway station, while the police search for a serial killer, who has been attacking the small village for two weeks, and another crime is planned between the main characters.

It lacks rhythm and action, but it has the privilege of having two great actors, stars of the 30s and 40s, at the end of their careers, Michel Simon and Pierre Brasseur.

It is also a game, in which the viewer is invited to participate in the investigation, trying to uncover, among the silences and unexpected behavior of the characters, a guilt that insists on evading the police.

It's certainly not a benchmark in the genre, nor is it an especially intelligent or well-told story. It is worth it mainly for the opportunity to see two great French actors from before the war again, who, even at the end of their careers, demonstrate the qualities that made them famous.

From the Michel Simon 6-pack I recently bought. Two of my favourite actors from the 1930's, Michel Simon and Pierre Brasseur, and Raymond Rouleau one of the handsomest stars in France after the war, plus two singing stars, Jean-Roger Caussimon and Catherine Sauvage join forces to make a fitfully absorbing noir set in a railway station in a sleepy French town. There's been a murder, or a series of murders, I wasn't too sure, and the police seem helpless to solve the case. The married couple played by Caussimon and Sauvage are too offputting to engage our interest, Simon throws a temper fit for some reason I couldn't discern, and Brasseur is left to hold the story together which he does pretty well. This film is primarily for people who feel sentimental about train stations going to seed in towns that time has passed by.

"Two Hours to Kill" couldn't possibly have started better or more promising! Whilst showing stills of buildings and rooftops of a seemingly sleepy little town, a stern and dead-serious voiceover explains how the place is named Auvernaux and how since several weeks everyone who lives here is beyond terrified because there's a serial killer at large. Three women have been murdered already, and the killer always takes away of their shoes. The voiceover ends by saying the murders take place in the neighborhood of the small train station, before the action actually also switches to this same station where a handful of people missed their train and must wait two hours until the next one.

Admittedly, the rest of the film doesn't live up to the marvelous opening, but the atmosphere remains moody and unsettling throughout. There's non-stop talking between the stranded people and the railway staff, but you sense that the killer is near and not everyone will survive the night. Because of the black & white and the setting of an isolated station, "Two Hours to Kill" reminded me a lot about one of the creepiest episodes of "The Twilight Zone", namely "Mirror Image". With all the sinister people and the chain smoking, you also expect Rod Serling to walk into the waiting hall at any second. Not a great film, but a decent French film-noir with strong performances and a clever (and unforeseeable) twist-ending.

Ivan Govar's name is completely forgotten today,although one of his films "Un soir Par Hasard" a bizarre pseudo -supernatural movie retains a certain following cult still today."Deux Heures à Tuer" his final effort released three years later is ,in a way,more of the same:a strange "in camera"thriller in a small railway station during two hours in real time (like "the set up" "Cleo De Cinq A Sept" "the rope").Some people (station staff,travellers) hold conversations sometimes incomplete in the waiting room or on the platforms:there's trouble in this little town cause a serial killer is at large and nobody knows who he is:he might be among them in the station.

Ivan Govar wants to create a threatening noir atmosphere but he only partially succeeds.Most of the time,the conversations are uninteresting and revolve around banality (the wife ,the husband,the male lover).Govar relies on his actors ,all were veterans who had seen better days:Michel Simon,Pierre Brasseur,Raymond Rouleau plus singer Catherine Sauvage.Only the scenes between Brasseur and Simon generate some fear ,more because of the talent of these thespians than of the script. The ending is admittedly intriguing enough,but sitting through the whole thing is a different matter.This ending is much less disappointing than that of "Un Soir Par Hasard" though.....

Two Hours to Kill earns a solid 8/10 for its enigmatic charm and captivating storyline. The inclusion of the actor from Fantômas adds an extra layer of intrigue to this suspenseful thriller.

The film exudes a mysterious vibe from start to finish, keeping viewers on the edge of their seats with its thrilling twists and turns. Despite the suspenseful nature of the plot, Two Hours to Kill maintains a lighthearted and fun style reminiscent of Louis de Funès' iconic films.

The blend of excitement and suspense creates an engaging viewing experience that is sure to entertain audiences of all ages. With its unique blend of mystery and humor, Two Hours to Kill stands out as a must-watch classic from 1966.