Le voyou

This is a brilliant, charming film. To the poster wanting "Merci Simca" to become a common well-known phrase- I totally agree. This movie has it all- wit, charm, great acting, clever script, great use of flashbacks, inventive crimes, great car chase thru the 70's streets of Paris- an almost perfect film. This movie is easily the equal of other classic French crime films of the time- it's a shame it is so little known. You may be thrown a bit (as was I) when characters are doing things out of character, not realizing it's a flashback, but that only adds to the experience- I'd rather be confused for a few minutes than have some obvious corny announcement that a flashback is coming, like squiggly dream lines appearing on screen. I had heard nothing of this film and had no expectations, and was blown away. This film was 25 years ahead of its time, it's kind of a forerunner to comedy/crime films such as Pulp Fiction, True Lies, Go, etc., but superior to all those.

Jean-Louis Trintignant (Simon) has escaped from prison. He is on the run and hijacks Danièle Delorme (Janine) for a place to hang out until he can get hold of some money that he previously stashed away and make his bid for freedom.

The film seems complicated and difficult to follow because the director Claude Lelouch has really messed up on this one. I didn't realize until towards the end that what I had been watching had been a flashback. There is no way of knowing. I spent a lot of the film thinking that it just didn't make sense, especially when Trintignant is arrested over a kidnapping. They seem to know where he is so why didn't they just arrest him earlier given that he has escaped from jail? The reason is because the whole kidnap sequence is a flashback and he hasn't yet been to jail. There is also a confusing part at the beginning where he seems to be telling people he is in different countries whilst he retrieves some money and hands it over to someone else. What is happening?

However, the story is actually quite good once you get your head around the fact that you may have missed countless flashbacks. I pretty much watched the whole film as a straight narrative – because that is how the director presents the film – and was ready to sling it on the reject pile as being ridiculously non-sensical. Viewer beware, there is a point or maybe several points where this film goes back in time. Once things don't make sense, you are probably in the flashback part of the story and if you understand this, the film is actually quite good. It needs a second viewing. My copy is dubbed in English – does anyone know if there is a sub-titled version?

Unusual and entertaining, if not fun crime flick with the Lelouch touch, but here, strangely, it works. Not brutal nor gloomy. The kidnapping scheme where everyone is winner, bank and criminals, is absolutely incredible !! You'll find here the charm of the early seventies where Lelouch hired his usual bunch: Charles Gerard, Jean Louis Trintignant, Aldo Maccionne and I guess some more. Lelouch is not usually my stuff, my cup of tea, especially for two hours features, but here, I repeat, it's OK. Don't look for many moral nor ethics here, but that's the Lelouch's touch.

A man escapes from prison and seeks the loot he had stashed away five years earlier. The middling narrative moves in fits and starts, with scenes unfolding at a leisurely pace. In particular, there's an elaborate kidnapping scene that plays out in such minute detail that it loses all momentum. The presentation is rather confusing. In fact, the flashback to the events of five years earlier is so clumsily handled that it takes a while for it to become clear that earlier events are being recounted. It opens with an extended prologue, a movie within the movie, that overstays its welcome. The same could be said of the film, which runs out of steam long before the end.

i LOVE this movie. I couldn't open the comment board so wrote my raptures on the message board. Please read that because i really want people to discover this lovely film. You may read the DVD cover and get an idea of the story. It's a lovely story but like all the great filmmakers say: it's not the story but how you tell it. I saw this movie and immediately watched it again with my assistants. I told them, Hollywood makes some superb films....but they can awe and intimidate you with their sheer mastery of the medium, technique and superior budgets. French cinema on the other hand can truly liberate you. This film has such a delightful casualness and yet is strongly plotted and has superb performances and full of ideas and technique that is decades before Quentin T and co.

And anyone who can get me Claude Lelouch's email id or contact address....i'd be very grateful. Need to send a two word mail or letter. Wow and Thanks. And i recommend Happy New Year to all those who love this picture. Find it, watch it.