Joseph Losey-Monsieur Klein (1976)

Both a thriller and a Kafkaesque dissertation on identity, Joseph Losey's Mr. Klein stars Alain Delon as Robert Klein—a charming and unscrupulous art dealer in Nazi-occupied France. As Jews flee Paris, Klein exploits them, preying on their desperation by buying their valuables at a fraction of their worth...until he finds his name is shared by a Jewish criminal who is a member of the anti-Nazi resistance. Klein reports this to the authorities only to find he is uncontrollably sinking into the quicksand of mistaken identity. Co-starring Jeanne Moreau, Mr. Klein is an award-winning suspense classic that studies the ever-changing relationship between victim and oppressor. (-DVD Prod. Info.)




How can state-sponsored bigotry destroy the life of an "ordinary" citizen, one whose heritage should exempt him from such policies? The eponymous Mr. Klein (Alain Delon), a suave, single, wealthy Parisian art dealer, finds out. It's 1942, the Nazis have occupied Paris, and Jews are being arrested and shipped to Germany. The lucky ones obtain false passports and flee the country. Robert Klein, whose family has been "French and Catholic since Louis XIV," is taking advantage of the situation by buying up Jewish family heirlooms at rock-bottom prices. Then one morning a Jewish newspaper appears on his doorstep, addressed to Robert Klein. The fact that he received mail intended for another Parisian Robert Klein--this one a Jew--must be a simple mistake. But is it? (--Laura Mirsky - Amazon.com - Editorial Reviews)




Mr. Klein becomes obsessed with finding his Jewish alter ego, finally falling into a trap from which it is impossible to escape. Directed by Joseph Losey and written by Franco Solinas, coauthor with Costa-Gavras, Mr. Klein is haunting and suspenseful: an exciting thriller with real substance. (--Laura Mirsky - Amazon.com - Editorial Reviews)




Paris, 1942. Robert Klein cannot find any fault with the state of affairs in German-occupied France. He has a well-furnished flat, a mistress, and business is booming. Jews facing discrimination because of laws edicted by the French government are desperate to sell valuable works of art - and it is easy for him to get them at bargain prices. His cosy life is disrupted when he realizes that there is another Robert Klein in Paris - a Jew with a rather mysterious behaviour. Very soon, this homonymy attracts the close - and menacing - attention of the police on the established art trader. (http://imdb.com/title/tt0074916/plotsummary)




Alain Delon stars as the eponymous protagonist in Joseph Losey’s first French film, MR. KLEIN. Living a posh life amid the chaos and turmoil of Nazi-occupied Paris, Mr. Klein makes his living buying art at cutthroat rates from desperate Jews fleeing the country. Product Info.




When a Jewish newspaper is mistakenly addressed to him, Klein learns of the existence of another, Jewish Mr. Klein. Klein reports the irregularity to the police, only to find himself further implicated in intrigue and danger. Embarking on a desperate search for his namesake, Klein visits his apartment and intercepts a secret invitation, bringing him into contact with the other Klein’s world--and lover (played by Jeanne Moreau). Product Info.




Sinking into a paranoid fervor, Klein becomes a detective, searching for any evidence of the other Klein’s whereabouts. As the Nazis close in and his double continues to elude him, the very name Mr. Klein, echoing sinisterly throughout the film, becomes a talisman of fear and panicked guilt. Product Info.




The secret societies and poisoned atmosphere of Vichy France come to life as Mr. Klein’s Kafkaesque nightmare leads him unwittingly into a startled appreciation of the plight of the persecuted. Losey's restrained direction matched with Delon’s emotive presence combine to create a powerful psychological and moral thriller. Product Info.




Monsieur Klein has obvious similarities with the works of Kafka, with the main character's fate gradually becoming indistinguishable from that of a Jewish namesake, to the point where he is herded off to an destination unknown to him which we know to be a concentration or extermination camp. At the start of the film he was a parasite making a good living off the need of Jews to sell off art objects for a relative pittance, but at the end he shares the fate of many Jews. In a film with many standout scenes, there are two which deserve special mention: the opening scene where a woman is poked and prodded by a doctor to determine whether she is racially inferior or not, and the scene when the French police raid Klein's premises and remove most of the art objects he possesses because he is suspected of being Jewish. Klein hands a woman friend a scrap of music and asks her to play it on the piano. She does so, not recognising it and asking if it is a military march, but the police are furious and demand that she stops. The music is the Communist song, the "Internationale". Klein gives no indication that he knows what it is but calls on her to continue playing it, perhaps as a gesture of defiance. (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074916/usercomments)








Links to previous movie posts:

From 1# to 200# please refer to page :
200 Donatella Baglivo-Andrei Tarkovsky in Nostalghia (1984)

201 Kenji Mizoguchi-Saikaku ichidai onna ('The Life of Oharu') (1952)
202 Tsai Ming-liang - Ni neibian jidian ('What Time Is It There?') (2001)
203 Jean-Luc Godard - Bande à part (1964)
204 Mario Monicelli-I Soliti ignoti (1958)
205 Alain Resnais-Hiroshima mon amour (1959)
206 Ingmar Bergman-Det Sjunde inseglet (1957)
207 Ingmar Bergman-Vargtimmen (1968)
208 Satyajit Ray-Pather Panchali (1955)
209 Tran Anh Hung-Xich lo ('Cyclo') (1995)
210 Liliana Cavani-Il Portiere di notte (1974)
211 David Gregory-Interviews on The Night Porter (2006)
212 Luchino Visconti-Rocco e i suoi fratelli (1960)
213 Boris Barnet-Devushka s korobkoy ('Girl with the Hat Box') (1927)
214 Alain Resnais-Mon oncle d'Amérique (1980)
215 Jan Svankmajer-Faust (1994)
216 Peter Greenaway-The Draughtsman's Contract (1982)
217 Nicolas Roeg-Don't Look Now (1973)
218 Emir Kusturica-Dom za vesanje ('Time of the Gypsies') (1988)
219 Michelangelo Antonioni-Cronaca di un amore (1950)
220 Márta Mészáros-Napló gyermekeimnek ('Diary for My Children') (1982)
221 Milos Forman-Horí, má panenko ('The Firemen's Ball') (1967)
222 Manoel de Oliveira-Viagem ao Princípio do Mundo ('Voyage to the Beginning of the World') (1997)
223 Francesco Rosi-Cristo si è fermato a Eboli (1979)
224 Roberto Andò-Il Cineasta e il labirinto ('Talking to Francesco Rosi') (2004)
225 Eric Rohmer-Le Rayon vert (1986)
226 Luis Buñuel-Belle de jour (1967)
227 Belle de jour-A History of the Film (2002)
228 Nicolas Roeg, Donald Cammell-Performance (1970)
229 Andrzej Wajda-Wszystko na sprzedaz ('Everything for Sale') (1969)
230 Ingmar Bergman-Jungfrukällan ('The Virgin Spring') (1960)
231 Karel Reisz-Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960)
232 Robert Bresson-Mouchette (1967)
233 Jean-Pierre Melville-Les Enfants terribles (1949)
234 Jean-Luc Godard - Masculin féminin, 15 faits précis (1966)
235 Joseph Losey-Monsieur Klein (1976)