“Man on the Train”

By Gerri Pare
Catholic News Service

NEW YORK (CNS) -- A retired teacher and a world-weary crook each find they envy the life the other has led in the bittersweet French tale "Man on the Train" (Paramount Classics).

Director Patrice Leconte has found in esteemed veteran French actor Jean Rochefort and Elvis-era pop icon Johnny Hallyday an apt duo to portray a bored poetry instructor and an aging bank robber thrown together by chance. The resulting film has much melancholy charm, and as these two seniors size each other up the languid pace seems fitting to capture the nuances of their opposite personalities.

Arriving off the train in a sleepy French town as twangy guitar music plays, boot- and leather-clad Milan (Hallyday) looks like a latter-day cowboy -- or, more precisely, the outlaw that he is. By the weekend he is to rob the local bank with accomplices yet to arrive.

Buying aspirin at the pharmacy, he meets retired teacher Manesquier (Rochefort), who is intrigued by the mysterious stranger and offers to put him up since the small town's hotel is closed. Glad of the company, the erudite Manesquier gabs on and on to his guest, unperturbed by Milan's monosyllabic responses. Initially scorning his host, the thief begins to find the cluttered old house with its profusion of books and easy chairs appealing. After a lifetime on the run and in bad company, Milan finds the teacher's philosophical musings and sedentary lifestyle just what he would now choose.

For his part, the teacher guesses he has a gangster in his midst, confirmed when he snoops and finds three handguns in his valise. Instead of alarm, he experiences jealousy for his guest's exciting and dangerous life, so foreign from his own. Slipping into Milan's leather jacket, he practices drawing a gun in the mirror just as Milan puts aside his leather boots to shamble about in the teacher's worn, comfortable slippers.

Each takes a small step beyond vicarious enjoyment of the other's life. While Manesquier is out, a serious young student arrives to be tutored about Balzac and Milan passes himself off as the substitute teacher. Inspired by Milan's demeanor in the local cafe, the meek teacher suddenly orders a tough loudmouth to shut up -- with wry results.

The day of the bank heist coincides with the teacher's heart surgery. The film's ending suggests their newfound friendship and desire to trade places may transcend mortal concerns.

Claude Klotz's script is a small-scale gem of a dual character study. Rochefort conveys the fusty old professor with remarkable effortlessness and with such grace it's hard to fault him for wanting to be a bank robber. Hallyday's solemn gaze and very lived-in face combine as an icy facade but also show a keen regret for wasted years without accomplishment. Both the use of music and carefully chosen color schemes help individuate and define the men.

The overall mood grows increasingly wistful as the two actors personify elderly bachelors' dealing with loneliness, longings and the sad realization that the jig is just about up. The director incorporates a melancholy humor throughout the proceedings, capped off by a note of magical realism that is as intriguing as it is ridiculous.

Subtitles.

Due to an uncritical view of theft, brief violence, a discreetly implied affair and a few crass expressions, the USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted.

* Pare is director of the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops