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Monsieur Klein

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Monsieur Klein
U.S. theatrical release poster
Directed byJoseph Losey
Written byFranco Solinas
Fernando Morandi
Costa-Gavras (uncredited)
Produced byAlain Delon
StarringAlain Delon
Jeanne Moreau
Michael Lonsdale
Francine Bergé
Juliet Berto
Massimo Girotti
Suzanne Flon
CinematographyGerry Fisher
Edited byMarie Castro-Vasquez
Henri Lanoë
Michèle Neny
Music byEgisto Macchi
Pierre Porte
Production
company
    • Lira Films
    • Adel Productions
    • Nova Films
    • Mondial Televisione Film
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 22 May 1976 (1976-05-22) (Cannes)
  • 23 September 1976 (1976-09-23) (Italy)
  • 27 October 1976 (1976-10-27) (France)
Running time
123 minutes
CountriesFrance
Italy
LanguageFrench
Budget$3,500,000
Box office$193,028[1][2]

Monsieur Klein (English: "Mr. Klein") is a 1976 mystery drama film directed by Joseph Losey, produced by and starring Alain Delon in the title role.[3] Set in occupied 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.[4]

The film is a French and Italian co-production,[3] and premiered at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival. It received widespread acclaim from critics[5] and won three César Awards; Best Film, Best Director (Joseph Losey), and Best Production Design (Alexandre Trauner). Alain Delon was nominated for Best Actor.

Plot

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Paris, January 1942. France is occupied by the Germans. Robert Klein, apparently apolitical and amoral,[6] is a well-to-do art dealer, Roman Catholic and Alsatian by birth, who takes advantage of French Jews who need to sell artworks to raise cash to leave the country.[7]

One day, the local Jewish newspaper, addressed to him, is delivered to his home. He learns that another Robert Klein who has been living in Paris, a Jew sought by police, has had his own mail forwarded to him in an apparent attempt to destroy his social reputation and make him a target of official anti-Semitism. He reports this to the police, who remain suspicious he may be reporting this scheme to disguise his own true identity.

His own investigations lead him in contradictory directions, to Klein who lives in a slum while having an affair with his concierge and to Klein who visits a palatial country estate where he has seduced an apparently Jewish married woman.

When the art dealer cannot locate the other Klein, authorities require him to offer proof of his French non-Jewish ancestry. While waiting for the documentation to arrive, he struggles to track down his namesake and learn his motivation, even breaking off an opportunity to flee the country in order to investigate further. Before he can resolve the situation by either means, he is caught up in the July 1942 roundup of Parisian Jews. As he is hustled into a dark tunnel, his lawyer arrives with complete proof of his non-Jewish ancestry. Klein blankly ignores the lawyer's pleas and continues into the tunnel.

The film offers no clear resolution of its contradictory evidence and dead ends. It ends as he is reunited with Jews who once were his clients as they board boxcars for Auschwitz.

Cast

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Symbolism and allusions

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Although Losey integrates historical elements (such as the infamous Vel' d'Hiv Roundup) into the film, it is more than a reconstruction of the life and status of the Jews under the Vichy regime.[8]

The relationship of the film with the works of the writer Franz Kafka has often been noted,[9][10] for example: The Metamorphosis, telling of the brutal and sudden transformation of a man into an insect; The Castle, which describes a search for one's own identity by way of getting to know "the other"; The Trial, which sees an accused man become an outlaw of society.

According to Vincent Canby, the filmmakers "are not as interested in the workings of the plot as in matters of identity and obsession".[11]

Reception

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The film has an approval rating of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 16 reviews.[5]

Vincent Canby of The New York Times who saw the film at the 68th Street Playhouse in 1977, had criticized the role of Alain Delon as Mr. Klein, saying that [he] is neither interesting nor mysterious enough to hold a film together.[12]

Awards and nominations

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The film was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival[13] but lost to Taxi Driver. However, Monsieur Klein did win the César Award for Best Film while Losey won the César Award for Best Director.[14] Alexandre Trauner won the César Award for Best Production Design,[15] Alain Delon was nominated for the César Award for Best Actor,[16] and in addition the film was nominated for Césars in three other categories.

Award Category Nominee Result
Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or Joseph Losey Nominated
César Award Best Film Won
Best Director Won
Best Actor Alain Delon Nominated
Best Cinematography Gerry Fisher Nominated
Best Editing Henri Lanoë Nominated
Best Production Design Alexandre Trauner Won
Best Editing Jean Labussière Nominated

Restoration

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A restored version was released by Rialto Pictures in 2019.[17]

References

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  1. ^ Box office information for film at Box Office Story
  2. ^ "Monsieur Klien (2019)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Mr. Klein (1976)". BFI. Archived from the original on April 26, 2017. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
  4. ^ Mr. Klein (1976)|The Criterion Collection
  5. ^ a b "Mr. Klein (1976)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  6. ^ The Criterion Channel
  7. ^ BAMPFA
  8. ^ "DVD of the Week: Joseph Losey's "Mr. Klein"". The New Yorker.
  9. ^ The Hour of Reckoning Descends in "Mr. Klein"|The New Yorker
  10. ^ Film Fourm
  11. ^ Canby, Vincent (November 7, 1977). "Cool, Elegant 'Mr. Klein' is a Metaphorical Movie" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
  12. ^ Canby, Vincent (November 7, 1977). "Cool, Elegant 'Mr. Klein' Is a Metaphorical Movie". The New York Times. p. 44.
  13. ^ "Festival de Cannes: Monsieur Klein". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  14. ^ Reimer, Robert Charles; Reimer, Carol J. (2012). Historical Dictionary of Holocaust Cinema. Scarecrow Press. p. xx. ISBN 978-0810867567.
  15. ^ Rémi Fournier Lanzoni (2015) [2002]. French Cinema: From Its Beginnings to the Present. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 257. ISBN 978-1501303098.
  16. ^ "Alain Delon – Gentleman of Style". Gentleman's Gazette. July 20, 2015.
  17. ^ Lane, Anthony (September 9, 2019). "The Secret Sharer: 'Mr. Klein'". The New Yorker. Vol. 94, no. 26. pp. 84–85.
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