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iluvcinema Selects: Ne les dis à personne/Tell No One (2006)

Ne les dis à personne (Tell No One) could have easily been an entry to the ‘Overlooked’ series I take part in, but alas, it is my latest video recommendation (Note: I have previously referred to this film a few times here on this blog).

For many of your out in the blog-o-sphere, you may be familiar with this film if only for the fact that Ben Affleck has been tipped to direct the English-language version. But why wait until 2014 (according to the IMDB) when you can catch the French original now.

Based on a novel from American crime author Harlan Coben, Tell No One is a taut, gripping suspense thriller which stars François Cluzot as Alex, a grief-stricken man who, several years after his wife’s (Marie-Josée Croze) murder, now finds himself the chief suspect of a double murder. Add to this an email Alex receives which reveals a new, mysterious layer to his wife’s death and …

… that is about all I will say about the film; the less you know, the better. There are so many unexpected developments that I do not want to spoil a single thing for you, if you decide to accept the mission I have laid before you.

Tell No One is directed and co-written by actor Guillaume Canet and co-stars Kristin Scott Thomas.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

Tell No One was awarded four César Awards in 2007: Best Director for Guillaume Canet, Best Actor (François Cluzet), Best Editing and Best Music Written for a Film (Original Score).

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Tuesday’s Overlooked Film: Night Train to Munich (1940)

Night Train to Munich deftly blends romance, comedy and suspense to create a great piece of entertainment. Much credit to this must go to director Carol Reed (of The Third Man notoriety) for his ability to combine all of these elements together.

The plot is somewhat generic for WWII espionage thrillers of the period with a few added twists and turns for good measure:

A Czech scientist has some information the Nazis want. As he and his daughter attempt to flee the impending occupation, the daughter (portrayed by Margaret Lockwood) is apprehended and sent to a concentration camp. She eventually “escapes” and heads to England to find her father, who is hidden somewhere in the country. While there, she comes in contact with British intelligence primarily in the form of Rex Harrison. All of this sets the narrative in motion in a race against time to prevent the Nazis from getting their hands on the Czech scientist’s secret.

As previously stated, the plot is somewhat generic for a wartime espionage thriller. Taken in its proper context, this makes sense. The year is 1940 and the film represents a propaganda-styled film designed to boost the morale of a nation deeply in the throws of a war against Germany; at this time England literally must feel like an island unto its own as it is about a year before the United States officially enters the conflict.

According to my research, Carol Reed looked at this film as a “sequel” of sorts to Alfred Hitchcock’s The Lady Vanishes, made two years earlier. While Night Train to Munich shares many similarities to its predecessor, chiefly (1) a main part of the action takes place on a train; (2) the cast includes Margaret Lockwood and the popular Charters and Caldicott (portrayed by Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne, respectively); (3) it features a death-defying climatic sequence of events.

But that is where the similarities end. Notable and welcomed additions to this idea are the presence of Rex Harrison and Paul Henreid. In the case of the latter, Henreid puts on display his fine acting ability and succeeds in convincing the audience that he is a bona-fide “baddie.” This portrayal is in stark contrast to his later heroic turns in both Casablanca and Now, Voyager (both from 1942).

Night Train to Munich takes its audience on a fun and thrilling ride from the Czech Republic to England and Germany.

While you may occasionally catch it on cable (I recently watched it on Turner Classic Movies), it is also available on Criterion DVD at several online retail outlets.

 

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Tuesday’s Overlooked Films: Lifeboat and Foreign Correspondent

To modern cinemagoers, when they think of Alfred Hitchcock, assuredly titles such as Rear Window, Vertigo, Psycho or The Birds come to mind.

Still for many Hitchcock devotees, the cut goes a little deeper and when back-cataloging his work, many are surprised to find that the majority of his films made when he first came to Hollywood were more derivative character-based dramas which may or may not contain elements of thrill and suspense. Also let us not forget the interspersed moments of light comedic relief often found in many of his productions.

This week’s installment of my overlooked films features a double-bill from this era (the 1940’s) in Mr. Hitchcock’s career, focusing on titles you may not have heard oft: Foreign Corresponent and Lifeboat. I chose to list these films jointly because they were produced around the same time and dealt with similar theme – World War II. World War II (and the subsequent Cold War) seemed to provide Hitchcock with ample material to drive his plots along now and in years to come.

Foreign Correspondent (1940)

It should be noted that this film was made prior to America’s entry into The War. The plot centers around a foreign correspondent working in Europe and being propelled into a global conspiracy. It is a taut, action-packed film that keeps you engaged until the very end. My favorite scenes: one involving Edmund Gwenn (I will say no more except to say, ‘NOT Saint Nick!’) and an amazing airplane crash sequence that was undoubtedly revolutionary for its time and still resonates with me.

Lifeboat (1944)

Four years later, Hitchcock made Lifeboat. This film strikes an even-keeled balance between ensemble piece, character drama and tense, nail-biting suspense. What is even more fascinating about this movie is it setting – it all takes place in and around a lifeboat floating in the Atlantic Ocean, in the aftermath of a German U-Boat attack. Standout performances include William Bendix, Walter Slezak and the one and only Tallulah Bankhead.

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