L'homme du train

I always love a good old French movie. When I was young, all I kept watching were comedies, but my friend Enšpígl introduced me to a whole number of rough crime movies that are a must-see for any movie buff. At that point, I realized that the French could do quite a lot back in the day. They could make you laugh, but they could also stiffen you with a mere look of the eyes. And all that was wrapped in the idea of friendship that you seldom get to see today. The Man on the Train is a pure gem in this respect because it strives to be like the good old crime movies. It drags forward slowly, it puts emphasis on two protagonists, incites emotions, but never too hard. The movie simply flows. Maybe I would have appreciated a bit more emphasis on eye play, which is something French cinematographers used to excel at. On the other hand, it’s great to see that there is still somebody in France these days who loves 1970’s and 1980’s French flicks. (03.04.2013)