Um Homem Meio Esquisito

This movie is without a doubt, one of the best and most depressing movies that I've seen in a long time. With minimal expense a masterpiece was made in this film. The actors embodied both sensuality and callousness within the confines of a single scene. Not sinking to a trashy voyeur level, this movie proves that nudity is not necessary for sexuality, but at the same time displays one of life's little known truths. We all need to love and be loved.

'Monsieur Hire' is a film where you can find elements of horror, mystery, romance and comedy blending with each other and the result is a really endearing piece of work.

This is a film that is majorly about the deceptiveness of appearances. 'Monsieur Hire explores the distinctions between what appears to be the truth and what is the actual truth, both in terms of facts and in terms of the nature of characters. Patrice Leconte uses the the screenplay and his camera to play around with the viewers with certain misleading shots and by deliberately withholding information. Certain ideas get set up in the minds of the viewer, but these ideas get undercut and turned on their heads with the unearthing of the actual truths towards the later parts of the film.

Patrice Leconte's style of artistically using the lighting and his way of establishing thematic and character conflicts by the using of colour(blue and red) reminded me of Kieślowski. 'Monsieur Hire' foreshadows films like 'The Double Life of Veronique' and 'Three Colours trilogy'. It also has a Hitchcock-like vibe to it in the way the film keeps the viewer guessing and on the edge of the seat with the way the mystery elements are handled. The camera movements are fluid, especially the sideways movement which at times contradict the movement of the characters in the scene. The beautiful operatic score helps Leconte to establish the theatrically poetic vibe that he is going for.

'Monsieur Hire' is driven forward by a dynamic, passionate and tender performance by Michel Blanc. He has to play a character who stays completely detached from the rest of the world, is very unsociable and not at all gregarious. Maybe similarities can be drawn between the characters of Hire and Gerd Wiesler from 'The Lives of Others'. Blanc forces the viewer to completely sympathise with him and root for him.

In a nutshell, 'Monsieur Hire' is a poetic, touching and visually polished piece of work that I can't help but recommend.

Monsieur Hire

For a man who likes great cinematography, nice colors and a pretty female face, this film offers all of the above for me.

Director Patrice Leconte usually makes stylish movies and this is no exception. It's beautiful to view. So is Sandrine Bonnaire, the leading lady. I'll have to see what other films have her in them. There are numerous closeups of her in this movie. This French effort doesn't show much "skin," yet the film has an erotic appeal. That tells you something.

Michel Blanc, the male lead, plays a strange character but he's fascinating to watch, too.

To be honest, the film has its slow moments but it is mesmerizing at times, too. The story is interesting overall and aided by two surprise twists at the end.

I am perplexed and frustrated over why this film is not available on DVD on which this great photography could really be shown off.

Having read some of the negative reviews regarding this film, I think the first thing to make clear here is that there is no point in watching this film if your idea of a perfect movie is Jurassic Park or The Da Vinci Code.

This is a film that focuses not on the story itself, but more on the characters and the emotions that reside within them. The above mentioned films take an idea for a story (a dinosaur filled wildlife park or a mysterious religious secret) and then devise a plot which is by far and away beyond what would ever happen in the real world.

In contrast, Monsieur Hire takes a story in which very little happens: A man is suspected of a murder. The man is a reclusive misfit, devoid of charm or humour, but he harbours a love for a woman he has never even met: a woman he knows only through seeing her from his apartment window. Unlike the aforementioned films, the plot, from beginning to end, can be summarised within just a few sentences. But it is what is behind the plot which makes this movie incredible. It is the notion of love which drives the film.

The acting and directing show passion that is more intense and sexual than anything I have seen, yet it does so without even a hint of what you would expect from a film described as "intense" and "sexual". The intensity of the love shown by the protagonist is beyond anything that one would have seen before, and yet it is far from the purity that one would normally associate with such an emotion. Indeed, it is dark and tense, and due to the questionable character of its object, one is left in turmoil as to whether this love is to be admired, pitied or instead viewed as just desserts for a man of his nature.

Those who have scored this low on the basis that the characters do not conduct themselves in a "believable way" confound me. The whole point of a film is that it takes you away from the everyday scenario. Most movies show you fairly ordinary people involved in extraordinary stories. This one shows you extraordinary characters involved in a story which (in itself) is fairly ordinary. To score this low based on its plot is to criticise Opera for its storyline. The whole point of the opera is its music, and the whole point of this film is its incredible portrayal of emotion. Brilliantly acted, brilliantly directed, and this will haunt you for some time.

If you need your films to be Hollywood factory typecasts then don't watch this. You won't enjoy it. Go and rent out The Expendibles, and leave Monsieur Hire to those who appreciate art when they see it. I'm sorry if that sounds pretentious. I enjoy a cheesy Hollywood flick as much as the next person, but it's sad that there are people who can't see beyond Stephen Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Bruce Willis.

If you've ever been in a love triangle, or were kind to someone who loved you but you didn't really love them in return, you'll appreciate the sad dance of the three main characters in this film. A young man and woman are lovers, and she is watched by her neighbor, the unpopular Mr. Hire, black sheep of a Paris near-suburban nabe. They begin a friendship, and even a relationship of sorts, while a cop tries to pin the murder of a young local girl, also an odd duck, on Mr. Hire. Not wanting to spoil the story for you, I won't say more, except to say that the slow parts are tolerable if you know in advance that this is a very thoughtful, haunting movie and you've got to be a little patient for the wonderful reward, which comes right at the end. Very pretty music, beautiful colors and details, lots of sad little moments that remind you of the loneliness of daily life. I wouldn't actually recommend this to most people. I don't think they'd tolerate the lack of Hollywood flash. If you're smart, you'll watch it though. I got it on DVD at a public library and wish I could see it on a big screen, though the DVD images are very lovely.