Mr Klein

Mr Klein is a Film carried out by Joseph Losey, with Alain Delon, and left in 1976.

Synopsis

In 1942 with Paris, under the German Occupation, the Alsatian Robert Klein makes deals while repurchasing below their real price of the objets d'art to Juif S in difficulty. Whereas it renews to its door one of them with which it has just bought a small painting of the Master Dutch Adriaen van Ostade, it discovers among its mail a specimen of the Jewish Informations , newspaper usually delivered on special subscription.

The profiteur realizes that there exists another Robert Klein, the Jew subscribed with the newspaper and driven like such with the police headquarter; and that from now on its patronym with Jewish consonance, in the form of a homonym, makes it suspect. It becomes a game for the police force. Taken in a bow net kafkaïenne, seeking to bleach, it does nothing but increase the suspicion of the authorities in its connection. He discovers that its double is a resistant Jew which uses his name like a folding screen to undertake mysterious activities. Provided with false paper, he seeks to flee; but tortured by the need to know that of which it is the homonym, it fixes an appointment to him.

Denounced, resisting it is stopped. The hero, with the image of his double, undergoes the same fate. He is stopped at the time of the raid of Vel of hiv the July 16th 1942. Although a friend lawyer obtained and in extremis to him brings papers attesting that it is not Jewish, the presence in the convoy off-set towards Germany of its homonym pushes Klein to remain to try of him to speak: pulled by a destiny which exceeds its person, it finishes in the train of deportees, and is found in the same coach as the Jewish customer (interpreted by Jean Bouise) with whom all had started.

Comment

Identity search and glance on the other

The first scene, which shows a woman of forty years, naked, examined like an object and catalogued like Jewish by a doctor, reflects the indifference of Klein, merchant of tables rich and considered who treats the works of art and the men like things. Klein is not Jewish: but while inquiring methodically into its homonym, it leaves to the continuation its own identity. Without never meeting the unknown, he discovers little by little the life of people of which he was unaware of all; at the point to find itself even suspected to him, marginalized, and finally off-set.

The last scene - which sees Klein giving up its pass to follow the sway in the crowd getting into the coaches - received various interpretations: will to share the fate of the Jews to which it is identified from now on, or perdition of an egoistic and indifferent man. Whereas the coach starts, Klein is found at the sides of the Jew which had yielded a Dutch table to him, and the film is completed on the echo of the voice of Klein pronouncing a figure: the ridiculous price which he had proposed this day with his customer in exchange of the table.

Symbolism and references

Losey, without carrying out only one reconstitution of the life and the statute of the Jews under the Occupation, integrates historical elements in an even metaphysical artistic step. The first criticisms were astonished besides that one can make art starting from the History.

Finally the relationship of film with works of the writer Franz Kafka was often raised: in particular the bond with the news the Metamorphosis , account of the brutal and undergone transformation of a man into a woodlouse; with the Castle which describes an identity search passing by the knowledge of the other; or with the Lawsuit which puts an individual in charge at the round of applause of the company.

Data sheet

  • Title: Mr. Klein
  • Realization: Joseph Losey
  • Scenario: Free Solinas
  • Production: Raymond Danon, Alain Delon, Norbert Saada for Adel Productions
  • Music: Egisto Macchi and Pierre Carries
  • Casting: Marguerite Capelier
  • Photography: Gery Fisher
  • Assembly: Henri Lanoë
  • Decorations: Pierre Duquesnes
  • Country of origin: France, Italy
  • Format: Colors/its Mono/35 mm
  • Kind: Drama
  • Lasted: 123 min
  • Coming out date: October 27th, 1976

Distribution

External bonds

  • the card ABC (file pdf, 4p)
  • Mr Klein on IMDb

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