L'HOMME DU TRAIN
aka THE MAN ON THE TRAIN

Year: 2002
USA: Paramount Classics
UK: Pathe Distribution
Cast: Jean Rochefort, Johnny Hallyday, Charlie Nelson, Pascal Parmentier, Jean-François Stevenin, Isabelle Petit-Jacques, Alain Guellaff, Edith Scob, Riton Liebman, Elsa Duclot, Armand Chagot, Veronique Kapoyan, Maurice Chevit, Olivier Fauron, Michel Laforest, Helene Chambon, Jean-Louis Vey, Sebastien Bonnet, Sophie Durand, Jean-Jacques Cornillon
Director: Patrice Leconte
Countries: France / Germany / UK
Language: French (English Subtitles)
UK: 90 mins
USA Rated: R for some language and brief violence
UK Certificate: 12A contains one use of strong language, moderate violence & sex references
USA Release Date: 9 May 2003 (Limited Release)
UK Release Date: 21 March 2003

(in French)

Synopsis

Milan (Johnny Hallyday) is a robber, Manesquier (Jean Rochefort) a retired poetry teacher. Acclaimed director Patrice Leconte's (MONSIEUR HIRE, GIRL ON THE BRIDGE, THE WIDOW OF SAINT - PIERRE) L'HOMME DU TRAIN (THE MAN ON THE TRAIN ) tells a story of unlikely encounter between town men thrown together by circumstances, each pondering the road not taken. MAN ON THE TRAIN won three awards at the prestigious Venice Film Festival 2002, including the Audience Award for Best Picture and Best Actor for Jean Rochefort.

Notorious criminal, Milan (Hallyday), arrives at a deserted train station in a sleepy French provincial town. In search of some aspirin to ease a raging headache, he meets lonely pensioner Manesquier and, with no where to stay, Milan accepts the old man's offer of shelter.

Monsieur Manesquier (Rochefort) is a retired schoolteacher with a passion for poetry who lives alone in a rambling old mansion on the outskirts of the town. Desperate for company and conversation, he sees something in Milan that he finds intensely intriguing. With the old man as chatty and congenial as Milan is mean and moody, the two develop a strange friendship and respect for each others ways.

Each has his own secret; at the end of the week Milan plans to rob the local bank and Manesquier is to undergo serious heart surgery. As their dates with destiny approach, each man finds himself envying the other. Manesquier longs to have an interesting life again, and has a dream of holding up the quiet town bank to create some excitement in his otherwise empty world. Milan, on the other hand, longs to sit by the fire and have a quiet life away from the danger and pressures of the criminal world.

Directed by Patrice Leconte and with a beautiful original score by Pascal Esteve, L'Homme Du Train delivers an intimate, witty yet wistful, often tragic and tense account of two lives unexpectedly intertwined and changed for the better.

DVD EXTRAS

Certificate: 12
Running Time: 86 minutes
DVD Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 (Wide screen 16x9)
DVD Sound Quality: Dolby 5.1
DVD Subtitles: English