Set in Vichy France, the Kafkaesque narrative follows an apparently Gentile Parisian art dealer who is seemingly mistaken for a Jewish man of the same name and targeted in the Holocaust, unable to prove his identity. Klein') is a 1976 mystery drama film directed by Joseph Losey, produced by and starring Alain Delon in the title role. Klein” captures that tightening feeling when you’re accused of something you didn’t do, yet you’re convinced you’ll be blamed for it anyway.įavorite shot: Klein’s POV walking in on a room full of strangers staring at him.įavorite line: “Tall, with dark hair, pretty much like you.Monsieur Klein (English: 'Mr. This was Roger Ebert’s big complaint with Francois Truffaut’s “The Last Metro.” But Losey takes the concept of the secure life of a non-Jew during the holocaust and slowly removes the safety net in order to show the dangerous absurdity of fascism. The problem with a lot of holocaust movies that don’t focus on Jewish characters, is they water down the horrors of the time.

The character of Klein is such an enigma A catholic frenchman who has the same name as a Jew, looks like a Jew, and is in just as much danger as a Jew. Delon plays Klein as calm and collected, which adds to the film’s building of tension. A lesser actor would portray Klein as spineless or egotistical. Here Delon’s face is older, paler, but demands our attention all the same. The greatest face in French cinema, Alain Delon, plays Mr. Losey’s camera work moves like a wandering eye, knowing exactly what to reveal to serve to plot’s mystery. But unlike most actor-driven filmmakers (the ones more interested in showing off Meryl Streep’s range than the film itself) Losey never relies solely on the acting. Klein,” you can feel Losey cracking his whip at the actors off camera.

Everyone gives such precise performances in “Mr. It doesn’t seem possible to give a bad performance in a Joseph Losey film.

Mr. Klein 1976 casino 1995 poster