The Man in the Basement

Far from his usual awful comedies, François Cluet shines bright in this Hitchcock like story, the kind of topic that the American film industry could also give. It is riveting, intriguing, you are stuck to your seat and it is impossible to do something else whilst watching this film. Acting is over the top with Jeremy Renier and Berenice Béjo. It is so exciting not to be bored by a film, there are so many lousy of them these days. I guess there are many cases like this one every week in France and many audiences could be concerned by this story. I will not spoil it any further but please try it. It is like a rollercoaster, it gets more and more exciting.....And the last thing which I wanted to emphasize on is that movie denounces the denial of Holocaust and Shoah, but in the same time, it points out that Shoah must not let people forget that there also were twelve millions Indians slaughtered during Conquest of the West; See what I mean? Very interesting point of view concerning a film denoucing Auschwitz horrors. But the overall meszge of the film is somewhere very ambiguous, it lest open much much much thinking.... MUCH after viewing.

This story ,although fictionalized,is based on a news item.

This "beast in the basement" can be seen as an allegory : in every home ,it's hidden in internet as Maitre Carole Vasquez says : the witnesses disappear and pretty soon there will be none ;so this revisionism will spread among easily influenced people (particularly the young minds :see the daughter in the movie) ; the ending can be questioned ,taking the law in your own hand should never be the solution , but it's also a warning and it's not reassuring at all :"he" can come back whenever he wants ,because the basement is his -and internet is his- it's a warning;the director urges us to be careful: in 2022,if you do not fight against a rotten thing ,you become a part of it.

Let's forget the coincidence : a revisionist buys a basement by chance in a Jew's house ;And he's all the more dangerous since he's clever,educated, he has his own logic ("I don't affirm ,I ask questions" ) ;once again, the more lucid character in the whole movie lawyer Vasquez ,knows better : he wants to pass for a martyr ,the last ,lonely and wretched ;moreover,his language is ambiguous :doesn't he denounce the 12,000,000 American Indian genocide?

Looking like a homeless man, he's more threatening than a smiling fascist man dressed up to the nines.

And in the building ,there are people who can embrace his lies without a moment's hesitation , particularly far-right wing guys.

Daniel Auteuil is part of these actors who're not afraid of playing hateful parts (it might be his most impressive role since Nicole Garcia's "l adversaire"2002 ).the more pitiful he looks like,the more he gives you the jitters.

The family who sold this cellar is turned upside down : it brings back horrible memories ,back in 1942 ,when Jacques 's uncle was arrested and deported (the year of the round up of the Jews in the Paris Velodrome D'Hiver); matching Auteuil every step of the way is Jeremie Rénier's portrayal of this gentle bourgeois ,overtaken by events,pushed to the limit. Both are among Europa's finest thespians.

There are flaws (the daughter's behavior and the bon vivant lawyer sometimes do a disservice to the cause );but the message is clear :revisionism is one the most worrying plague,cancer of our society .The very last picture tells it so.

Directing shows a strong Roman Polanski's influence ,particularly "le locataire" (aka "the tenant") (1976)

This is a movie that's meant to question the unquestionable truths. When your perspective of life it's so radical that can't give room for other points of view the right becomes a wrong. The ending (without spoiling it) I think was an analogy of how if we don't understand each other the problems can't fix themselves.

This movie approaches the delicate topic of antisemitism in a very, very surprising way !

Probably only the French could achieve this !

Very good screenplay and great casting !

This fast paced French production, tells the disquieting story of a family who sells their dreary cellar to a stranger, bringing unique challenges to individual members. This is one of those entertainments that can throw you off balance, as you follow the wide range of challenging influences - that one person can inflict on a diverse group of people, in a divided society. It offers many thought provoking themes to decipher - including the unjustified annihilation and removal of races from their homelands - to those questioning the Holocaust, and the repulsiveness of anti-Semitism. Also under the microscope is an examination of how easy it can be for youth, to fail to fully understand various crimes against humanity, committed before they were born.

Like the very different Walter Mosley book this adaptation is based on, it's not always fully clear what point of view writer/director Philippe Le Guay is focusing on - forcing the audience to make their own choices or see things from several perspectives. This ambiguous approach won't please all viewers. There's also much to consider about the degree of control, we as humans, are required to exercise when faced with a range of rapidly escalating situations - challenging our everyday lives. Eerie old locations, good production values, and strong performances bring this, at times, confronting thought provoker to vivid life.