Roman de gare

"Roman De Gare" is Lelouch's best movie since his good comedy/thrillers of the seventies ("Le Voyou" "LE Chat Et La Souris" "LA Bonne Année".)

It must be the screenplay:for it does not present itself as typifying a new Lelouch approach;the group of people ,some of whom having a thin connection between them is as old as the hills in Lelouch's filmography from "Toute Une Vie" to "Les Uns ET Les Autres";the reality/fiction subject was already broached in "Edith And Marcel" a forerunner of "La Mome";Lelouch's fondness for French song is also to be found here (represented by a Gilbert Becaud mini-repertoire ,which has no real connection with the plot;in the past,it was Sacha Distel,Johnny Hallyday and ,yuk ,Mireille Mathieu.)The "things are not what they seem" topic was the main interest of the 1970 effort "le Voyou" and continued with such works as "Viva La Vie" .

And yet,the impression left by the movie as a whole is a definitely more balanced ,poised and modest Lelouch.Once this would have been thought a downright incongruity ,even an impossibility -the movie was first shown as a work made by an anonymous director - ,neither desirable nor likely.But now,it seems Lelouch is on the right track again.

Gone are the pretensions of the mammoth movies ,the likes of "Les Uns Et Les Autres" ;Gone is the blandness of psychological dramas such as "Et Si C'Etait A Refaire" ;instead the viewer rejoices in the presence of wonderful lines sometimes worthy of Guitry and Jeanson.I remember TRuffaut telling Lelouch "UN Homme Et Une Femme " was the best New Wave movie;terse answer by Lelouch :"I hate N.W" ;which was rebellious at the time at least artistically.

If an influence can be felt in "Roman De Gare" ,it's that of the superior old school.Long before Lelouch ,Julien Duvivier had invented the movie made of subplots which became a seamless whole in the end .It was obvious in "Sous Le Ciel De Paris" (1951).But the movie Lelouch borrows from is arguably the overlooked and largely ignored Duvivier's "La Fete A Henriette"(1952) in which two screenwriters play a part which Dominique Pinon's role recalls.Lelouch is no match for Duvivier, he has not got his pessimism ,and he adds a detective side ,but to mention Jeanson,Guitry or Duvivier in a Lelouch review indicates that the director can age gracefully.As historian Patrick Brion wrote "LA Fete A Henriette" was plundered (and remade three times,a record for a FRench movie).Lelouch did use some elements of the movie with care and talent.

A stellar cast gives the movie much substance:Dominique Pinon is the stand-out the only French actor who is both ugly and handsome ;Myriam Boyer is the crude peasant whose only obsession is that "her son-in-law believes in God.She proves herself smarter than she first appeared,noticing that the "Jew" eats pork and that this "physician cannot stand the sight of blood" .A short-haired Fanny Ardant is cast as a writer called Judith Ralitzer (a hint at "Pulitzer" or at the "Romans De Gare" of writer Paul Loup Sulitzer?).

Witty,funny and intriguing:if someone had told me I 'd like a Lelouch movie in the naughties....

When I can, I try to come here shortly after having seen a movie before I can intelectualise it too much or...forget half of it. I have just watched "Roman de Gare", came home and checked IMDb! Having left France at 27 and some 40 years now. Roman de Gare pointed me in the direction of romantic story in trains or train stations. I guess I was partly on the right track but reading other's comment I do agree with "typical Novel one would buy at the station to fill time on the train journey". (I'm not familiar with "airport novel" but imagine it must be very similar) All this,though, did not prepare me much for what was to come. I did enjoy the "trip" but I had some reservation about the twists and turns it took. I do mind improvisations that mislead almost solely for the sake of misleading. Personally I would have preferred to see these improvisations done in a much smarter way instead of being there just because we are told these 'situations' are there with 'would be' links but we have to guess what is what.

I probably would have enjoy the story just as much or even better if it had been simpler but kept the main element in one direction. Instead I found we were told a fairly straight forward story with, a lot of adds on that really did not do much beside confusing the audience but to lead to a rather conventional ending. It is possible I'll have a different reaction on a second viewing, however today, I had a good time but I found there was something not quite right for me.

Judith Ralitzer (Fanny Ardant) is a major French writer, or so the world thinks. The truth is that another writer, Pierre (Dominique Pinon) has been "ghosting" her books for seven years. The duo are to meet in Cannes to discuss their future endeavors. Ms. Ralitzer was also once married to a wealthy vineyard owner who died relatively young. Did she have anything to do with his death? Meanwhile, Huguette (Audrey Dana) is traveling with her doctor-fiancé to her parents' home in southern France. Alas, they have a big fight and Huguette is abandoned by her intended at a petrol station. In the station's coffee shop, she meets a kind gentleman who offers her a ride. What she doesn't know is that a serial killer, who employed magic tricks to snare his victims, has escaped from a French prison. Should she accept this stranger's offer? At this same moment, too, a Parisian wife reports that her husband is missing and doesn't know which way to turn. However, she does like the looks of the detective assigned to the case! This is an intriguing film with plenty of energy and suspense. The cast is quite nice, also, with Ardant giving a nice turn as the arrogant writer. Dana, too, makes a beautiful, mixed-up heroine. Pinon does not have the looks of a leading man but is quite fine as the major male lead while the rest of the cast is more than adequate. Naturally, the scenery in France is beautiful but one might be surprised at the rustic nature of Huguette's family abode where there is not the least hint of sophistication. One must also compliment the well-chosen costumes, the fascinating script and the sure direction of Claude Leloush. If you are searching for a film that will render an alternative movie experience from the standard Hollywood fare, do roam to the theater and plunk down some dough for this one. You will not be disappointed.

After the unfair successive failure of the aborted trilogy of "La Comédie Humaine", we thought that Claude Lelouch was broke for a long time whereas Roman de Gare is released less than 2 years after "le courage d'aimer", the second and final opus of the forecast trilogy. Shot in secret with a nom de plume, Roman de Gare recalls a little of the freshness of the Lelouch of the 60's, but also lacks of the grandeur we were used to: the image quality is pretty poor, the cast is not all stars, though Fanny Ardant, Truffaud's egerie is superb as usual, we feel Lelouch had really little money to shoot; not a great music as usual(late Gilbert Becaud was a respected French singer, but the choice of the songs does not highlight the scenes to my feelings), the story is centered on a murder story, but is actually a pretext to demonstrate once more the human and love relations that the director is famous to be a passionate of. Not the greatest Lelouch, but not boring either due mainly to an unusual funny script and a pretty good acting.

The successful novelist Judith Ralitzer (Fanny Ardant) is interrogated in the police station about the disappearance of her ghost-writer. A serial-killer escapes from a prison in Paris. A missing school teacher leaves his wife and children. In the road, the annoying and stressed hairdresser Hughette (Audrey Dana) is left in a gas station by her fiancé Paul while driving to the poor farm of her family in the country. A mysterious man (Dominique Pinon) offers a ride to her and she invites him to assume the identity of Paul during 24 hours to not disappoint her mother. Who might be the unknown man and what is real and what is fiction?

"Roman de Gare" is an intriguing and suspenseful story with many twists and a reasonable resolution. The first part while the identity of the aspirant magician is unknown is great, with a good performance of the unknown and gorgeous Audrey Dana in the role of a complex character. When Pierre Laclos vanishes and Judith's novel becomes a best-seller, I really expected a better explanation for what happened in the yacht. But the movie is very entertaining and recommended. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Crimes de Autor" ("Crimes of Author")