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This is the one of the most pretentious pieces of crap I've ever seen. The Palms's medication must have run out on this one. Too bad - because he's not without talent. The heralded shootout in the train station was a sad parody of Eisenstein. How could anyone who's aware of film history think differently? Ponderously pandering and excruciating at each and every point. And the rest of the film is little more than a sad parody of Sergio Leone. A parody of a parody is sh..! Thanks to David Mamet none of these characters speaks conversational English. Heavy handed, heavy footed and painfully inept. I'm only going on because I need a minimum of ten lines to complete this review. If it wasn't for that it would only take one word to sum up this film - and it starts with s and ends with t.

I wondered why I was actually laughing at a French film until I realized it was made by Finns. Reminded me a lot of Buster Keaton, except that the pratfalls are mostly cerebral. Deadpan comedy with style. The black dog was the Finnish Rin-Tin-Tin. I hope he got a nice bone for his efforts.

Simple and eloquent. The Stranger may be too charming for many of today's hipsters. A bit corny perhaps, but corn tastes great when it's cooked properly. The acting alone is worth the price of admission. If this was Ray's swan song, I'm sure he's resting in peace. Bravo, maestro!