The Man on the Train with Jean Rochefort and
Johnny Hallyday
A film about Calling
This is a
terrific film about calling.
The glorieuse
Jean Rochefort plays Monsieur Manesquier.
Johnny
Hallyday, the regretted, recently departed singer is Milan.
Monsieur
Manesquier is a teacher in a small town.
Milan is
the opposite.
He has been
a criminal, robbing banks and running from the law all his life, carrying with
him three pistols.
They meet
in a pharmacy.
Monsieur
Manesquier invites the stranger to stay over at his house, when the small hotel
in the village has no vacancies.
The teacher
is the talkative one, while Milan is reserved, probably a side effect of his
profession which must involve discretion…
-
Absolute discretion if possible
The
criminal meets with a couple of colleagues, one of them explaining the plan of
hitting the local bank…
-
Piece of cake
-
You can choke on a piece of cake
Even less
outspoken than Milan, the third man is so quiet that he becomes funny, with his
habit of pronouncing a sentence per day.
-
What is his story
-
Oh, he only talks at 10 a.m.
-
Is he crazy?
-
His wife left him…
-
When
-
Seven years ago
A strong
bond develops between Monsieur Manesquier and his guest, with both looking at
the other’s occupation.
In the
manner of the infamous Taxi Driver Travis, the host talks to himself in the
mirror, using different lines:
-
My name is Wyatt Earp
-
There is a new sheriff in town
-
I am the only one with the guns…
-
Bam, bam…or words to that effect
It is
obvious that the two men wish they had the life of the other, one longing for
tranquility and the other for action.
This is a
clear case of:
-
Missing one’s calling or at the very
least
-
Getting tired and bored with the
activity or lack of action respectively
Milan is
wondering about the tranquility, the peace and equanimity offered by the life
of a teacher in a small town.
At the same
time, the professor is attracted by the three guns he found in the room of the
adventurous guest.
As a favor,
he wants to try and fire them and they get to an isolated, ruined house where
he can shoot at empty cans.
Milan is
trying on the slippers, which he receives as a gift from his host, who wants to
take part in the robbery.
When the
teacher is out, one of his private students comes at the house where he is
received by the would-be professor, Milan:
-
I take the place of your teacher
-
Yes
-
What did you have to study?
-
Eugenie Grandet
-
Tell me about it
-
She waits for her lover
-
How long?
-
Until the end
-
What if Eugenie Grandet had a phone?
Think about that
The ending
invites the audience to think of the two characters and their different lives-
one taking the place of the other, a switch suggested by the poster of the film
as well…
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