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Sadly Over-hyped

Excellent but underrated film

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

A man escapes from prison and seeks the loot he had stashed away five years earlier. The middling narrative moves in fits and starts, with scenes unfolding at a leisurely pace. In particular, there's an elaborate kidnapping scene that plays out in such minute detail that it loses all momentum. The presentation is rather confusing. In fact, the flashback to the events of five years earlier is so clumsily handled that it takes a while for it to become clear that earlier events are being recounted. It opens with an extended prologue, a movie within the movie, that overstays its welcome. The same could be said of the film, which runs out of steam long before the end.

I do not go much for Lelouch's stuff ,which is to the French cinema what Mac Donald is to gastronomy.But,and this is crucial,there are exceptions."La Vie,L'Amour ,La Mort" which was a semi-flop ,was a sincere plea against death penalty;and there are two delicious comedies:one of them is "La Belle Année" (1974) ,and the other is this film .It's about a child's abduction but things are not what they seem,and at a time when unexpected twists have become de rigueur ,I think one could remake "le voyou".The film takes also at a slap at the commercials and the "Thank you,Simca ( cars)" scene is worth the price of admission.Also features Sacha Distel at the Olympia ,the famous Paris music hall: he sings "Toute La PLuie Tombe Sur Moi" ;a French cover of "raindrops keep fallin' on my head".Good cast with a dynamic Jean-Louis Trintignant,who starred in Lelouch's Cannes Palme d'Or 1966 "Un Homme et Une Femme" ,and Charles Denner.Anachronisms: the kidnapping was supposed to happen in 1965;but "raindrops keep fallin' on my head " was a 1970 song,so Distel could not sing a cover in 1965.Ditto for the "Un homme et Une Femme" (1966) private joke!

I watched this film on DVD and absolutely loved it--nearly as much as other European crime classics such as RAFIFI, BOB LE FLAMBEUR and GRAND SLAM. The acting was amazingly realistic--particularly from Jean-Louis Trintignant in the lead. The direction is generally excellent and the writers showed that they could make an intelligent and well-constructed film that is timeless. And the film just screams quality is nearly every respect.Despite how much I loved the film, the editing was very odd, in that the scene transitions from the present (1970) to 1965 and this transition is not at all smooth. You figure it all out very quickly but you are left with the distinct impression that you missed something. As I had the DVD, I went back and reviewed this transition where the two male crooks are eating at the home of the lady Jean-Louis Trintignant met at the theater in 1970 (after his prison escape). Suddenly, his old girlfriend is seen driving up to a house in the country and it's "pre-crime"--and long before he goes to prison. It appears to be a mistake and I can't see why the director would have chosen this otherwise.So one final comment about the film. The movie succeeds in hooking you because the plot is pretty entertaining and complex and I strongly recommend it. Oddly, however, the DVD box says it's a comedy. I wouldn't agree--it's not at all funny, though it has some ironic twists (that you're bound to like) and has a somewhat light mood at times.

This is a brilliant, charming film. To the poster wanting "Merci Simca" to become a common well-known phrase- I totally agree. This movie has it all- wit, charm, great acting, clever script, great use of flashbacks, inventive crimes, great car chase thru the 70's streets of Paris- an almost perfect film. This movie is easily the equal of other classic French crime films of the time- it's a shame it is so little known. You may be thrown a bit (as was I) when characters are doing things out of character, not realizing it's a flashback, but that only adds to the experience- I'd rather be confused for a few minutes than have some obvious corny announcement that a flashback is coming, like squiggly dream lines appearing on screen. I had heard nothing of this film and had no expectations, and was blown away. This film was 25 years ahead of its time, it's kind of a forerunner to comedy/crime films such as Pulp Fiction, True Lies, Go, etc., but superior to all those.