Dominik Moll - Harry, un ami qui vous veut du bien aka With a Friend Like Harry (2000)

On a hot day in a highway gas station men's room, a man Michel doesn't recognize says they went to school together. He's Harry. He suggests they have a drink, so he and his girlfriend follow Michel and his family to their summer place. Michel is amazed when Harry quotes from memory a poem Michel wrote in school. Harry thinks Michel is a great writer, and he's distressed that Michel hasn't written in years. Harry stays awhile (since his father's death, he's a man of leisure) and sets out to eliminate distractions that might keep Michel from writing. First he buys Michel a car (with air conditioning) and then suspicious things happen. Michel picks up a pen, Harry is gratified, but he's not finished being Michel's self-appointed patron.





'With a Friend Like Harry' is a pretty awful title for a very entertaining French thriller. I can't claim it is the greatest thriller I've ever seen, or that it will change your life, but it's well written with interesting characters, isn't as obvious and predictable as most Hollywood movies in this vein, and it has a satisfying conclusion. As modern thrillers go, it's a very enjoyable one and should please most fans of the genre. The strength of the movie is in the performances of the two main male leads, Larent Lucas who plays Michel and Sergi Lopez who plays Harry. I can imagine if this was remade in Hollywood and they were played by (insert likely actors here) just how obvious and stereotypical their characters would be. Michel bumps into Harry while traveling with his wife Claire (Mathilde Seigner) and three young daughters. Harry is an old school chum that Michel has long forgotten, but it quickly becomes obvious that Harry remembers Michel, quoting from memory a poem he wrote in High School that Michel can hardly even recall writing. Harry charms Michel and pretty soon Harry and his beautiful girlfriend Plum (Sophie Guillemin) are invited along to Michel and Claire's modest holiday house. Harry is quirky but charming and reveals that he is independently wealthy. His reminisces about Michel's youthful writing stirs up something long forgotten in Michel, and this, along with Harry's insistence on helping financially, creates tension between Michel and his wife. However things aren't as straightforward as that. Harry has other ideas in mind... I won't spoil what happens as the story progresses, that would ruin the fun. An enjoyable thriller, nothing more, nothing less. Highly recommended. (IMDB comment)







Harry, un amigo que te quiere bien
Michel vive unos momentos muy estresantes con su familia y la granja que están arreglando. Pero de repente llega un personaje desde su pasado -Harry, un olvidado amigo de la infancia- para poner el peso necesario en la balanza de su equilibrio vital, ayudándole en todo lo que haga falta para que Michel sea feliz.



Les vacances de Claire et Michel s'annoncent plutôt difficiles. Entre leurs trois enfants, énervés par l'infernale canicule qui sévit sur la ville, et cette maison de vacances qui est en chantier depuis cinq ans, le couple est sur les nerfs. C'est alors qu'Harry debarque inopinément dans leurs vies, prêt à tout pour faire le bonheur de son ami Michel.





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