The Man on the Train.
Full of atmosphere. Clickety-clack of railroad tracks introduce us to the world of this movie, quiet, somewhat gritty, blue-toned.
Twangy solo acoustic guitars evoke a Western. There will be western motifs throughout.
The professor wishes for a life of adventure. His conservatism is tempered by his imagination, and his acknowledgement of the life he lives.
The stranger is tired, world weary, and longs for a place to call home. He puts on the slippers and imagines life in one place.
They bond over drinks and poetry. Both are veterans of life, and both understand each other. The professors wants to teach his charges to beware sweetness, the stranger thinks that life is not so sweet.
Quote: “Were you a good teacher?”
“Not one molested student in 30 years!”
And Saturday arrives, the day the stranger goes to his task, and the professor to his. And what happens?
Then a man leaves town on the train. But who is he?
The actors are well cast. The stranger is played by Johnny Hallyday, who was a rock star in his time, and he plays the role with such world weariness and understand of his limitations. Jean Rochefort as the professor is perfect in tone and manner, completely believeable.
I think the most remarkable thing about this movie is the way it immediately transports you into a certain world with distinct rules. There seems to be a certain spell that takes affect. You enter the world without question, indeed without really knowing it. At the end, you accept the enchantment, and transition once again back into the real world, or something like it.
Clickety-clack. Clickety-clack.
Shot in an almost documentary style, on grainy Super8 or probably 16mm, and blow to 35mm.