Mr. Klein (1976)

Director: Joseph Losey

Writers: Franco Solinas, Fernando Morandi

Composers: Egisto Macchi, Pierre Porte

Starring: Alain Delon, Jeanne Moreau, Francine Berge, Juliet Berto, Jean Bouise, Suzanne Flon, Massimo Girotti, Michael Lonsdale

More info: IMDb


Plot:  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.

My rating: 8/10

Will I watch it again?  Probably.

I knew nothing about this going in except the director and stars.  It's a mysterious picture in that Klein (Delon) knows very little about what's been going on and we're in the same boat as he is.  There were moments when he figured out something and I wasn't sure where his thinking was taking him but it didn't matter as I was invested in the film and was wanting to know desperately what his fate was to be.  There were times when I thought he might be imagining  things and people.  Then there was the very real possibility that he'd been set up, and if so then by whom?  That had me thinking, and that's the best part.  I was intrigued by the film and I was filled with all kinds of possibilities even after the film was over.  Often I'll watch a movie and let it take me where it wants without over-thinking the plot.  This one was tough to give over as it's a mystery until the end but the social commentary doesn't hit home until the final scene which is absolutely brilliant.  It's a wonderful ending.