Adieu Monsieur Haffmann

I am beginning to wonder that the great French actor Daniel Auteuil has hit lower ground with his recent choices for the movies he is starring in. Daniel Auteuil used to be a sure bet that you were gonna see a solid movie, but times have changed, so it seems...

The bad: this movie is dressing up to be a dramatic movie about war refugees, but what it ends up being is a cheap copycat.

Every technical detail (set, photography, sound) is below average. But what's worse is that the acting performances are lacking in spark and punch. There simply is no actor's chemisty.

This looks and feels like a cheaply made television movie. Bummer. Expected a lot more from it...

This film had my complete attention from start to finish. Very well acted and full of ironic twists. For me, this movie was a profound exploration of the moral dilemmas that people face in times of crisis. With many movies these days, especially American movies, you more or less know within about ten minutes where the story is going. Not so with Farewell Mr. Haffman. It's a film that makes you examine yourself and wonder what you would do in such a situation. Great acting by all three of the main characters, so much so that you forget the actors and become totally absorbed in the characters they are portraying. I love movies set in this period, but this one is also exceptionally well directed and acted.

Exploring some of the bizarre, darker aspects of the human condition during occupation, this modern drama displays French cinema at its finest. Director Fred Cavaye brings starkly to life a story by Jean Philippe Daguerre, dealing with those shocking years of the Nazi occupation of France. The sickening French collaborators, the inhumanity of innocent families lives being sacrificed to an inhumane regime, and the uncertainty of what might remain in the years to follow.

All performances are uniformly sterling (especially Sara Giraudeau as the perplexed wife) as is the dynamic cinematography by Denis Rouden - making this above-average production riveting from beginning to its somewhat ironic finale. It's rounded off by a thoughtful music score from Christophe Julian.

At times it's perhaps a difficult watch and some plot development might seem a bit forced, but eventually offers some rich rewards. Recommended for contemporary History devotees and studies of human relationships.

It's a drama set in Paris, France, beginning in May 1941 and extending into late 1942. It follows the story of a Jewish-owned jewelry shop after the Germans have taken over Paris.

Joseph Haffmann (Daniel Auteuil) is a successful middle-aged jeweler of great skill. When he sees signs stating all Jews need to report for a census, he sends his wife and three children to a safer area in Vichy France. François Mercier (Gilles Lellouche) is Haffmann's recently-hired French assistant. Mercier is an unhappy man who could not serve in the army because of a bad leg that requires a brace. He is also despondent because, after several years of marriage, he cannot have children with his wife, Blanche (Sara Giraudeau). The doctors have indicated Blanche is healthy, so François blames himself.

Haffmann concocts a scheme to save his business during the German occupation by "selling" it to Mercier, with the understanding he will repurchase the shop after the war. He promises to help Mercier then set up his own shop. Mercier agrees though Blanche is skeptical. However, Haffmann is foiled in his efforts to follow his family and is forced to hide with the Merciers, who have already moved into Haffmann's home above the shop.

The film then follows the difficult changes in the relationship between Haffmann and the Merciers, especially since a German Commandant named Jünger (Nikolai Kinski) becomes a major customer of the store. Relationships deteriorate until a surprise allows for a righteous ending.

"Adieu Monsieur Haffmann" is perhaps the best film I've seen this year. The acting, direction, and cinematography, are all excellent. The righteous ending seems a little improbable and subtracts my rating from a 10 to a 9. The viewer gets into the souls of the three principal characters. The film is derived from a play, so almost all the action takes place in one building. Highly recommended.

Flawless work by the cast make this watch an emotion inducing one. It's a people story full of artistic expressions. Great visuals to portray how lives changed. A chronicle on what people saw, felt and had to live through in a time of death. Farewell Mr. Haffmann is for the keen minds to revisit history and admire the strange ways of human mind the fountain of persona.