The Crook

Jean-Louis Trintignant (Simon) has escaped from prison. He is on the run and hijacks Danièle Delorme (Janine) for a place to hang out until he can get hold of some money that he previously stashed away and make his bid for freedom.

The film seems complicated and difficult to follow because the director Claude Lelouch has really messed up on this one. I didn't realize until towards the end that what I had been watching had been a flashback. There is no way of knowing. I spent a lot of the film thinking that it just didn't make sense, especially when Trintignant is arrested over a kidnapping. They seem to know where he is so why didn't they just arrest him earlier given that he has escaped from jail? The reason is because the whole kidnap sequence is a flashback and he hasn't yet been to jail. There is also a confusing part at the beginning where he seems to be telling people he is in different countries whilst he retrieves some money and hands it over to someone else. What is happening?

However, the story is actually quite good once you get your head around the fact that you may have missed countless flashbacks. I pretty much watched the whole film as a straight narrative – because that is how the director presents the film – and was ready to sling it on the reject pile as being ridiculously non-sensical. Viewer beware, there is a point or maybe several points where this film goes back in time. Once things don't make sense, you are probably in the flashback part of the story and if you understand this, the film is actually quite good. It needs a second viewing. My copy is dubbed in English – does anyone know if there is a sub-titled version?

i LOVE this movie. I couldn't open the comment board so wrote my raptures on the message board. Please read that because i really want people to discover this lovely film. You may read the DVD cover and get an idea of the story. It's a lovely story but like all the great filmmakers say: it's not the story but how you tell it. I saw this movie and immediately watched it again with my assistants. I told them, Hollywood makes some superb films....but they can awe and intimidate you with their sheer mastery of the medium, technique and superior budgets. French cinema on the other hand can truly liberate you. This film has such a delightful casualness and yet is strongly plotted and has superb performances and full of ideas and technique that is decades before Quentin T and co.

And anyone who can get me Claude Lelouch's email id or contact address....i'd be very grateful. Need to send a two word mail or letter. Wow and Thanks. And i recommend Happy New Year to all those who love this picture. Find it, watch it.

Unusual and entertaining, if not fun crime flick with the Lelouch touch, but here, strangely, it works. Not brutal nor gloomy. The kidnapping scheme where everyone is winner, bank and criminals, is absolutely incredible !! You'll find here the charm of the early seventies where Lelouch hired his usual bunch: Charles Gerard, Jean Louis Trintignant, Aldo Maccionne and I guess some more. Lelouch is not usually my stuff, my cup of tea, especially for two hours features, but here, I repeat, it's OK. Don't look for many moral nor ethics here, but that's the Lelouch's touch.

Trintignant is brilliant, aided by a terrific supporting cast, as a nihilistic but debonair professional thief. The plot is very clever with many surprising twists and turns, and this is combined with a philosophical spirit that transcends description. The film within a film angle has never been handled with more panache. I just saw it this week after not seeing it since the 70's, and the film stands the test of time marvelously -- still as fresh, funny, and involving as when I saw it originally. I recommend this overlooked jewel very strongly.

Lelouche and Trintignant combine for a deft, lighter touch than their normal weighty collaborations. Full of wry touches, there is never a pause in the mind's contribution and nothing conventional to help you catch your breath. This is the kind of movie that you wish Hollywood could make but it never does, full of layers of complexity and wit, this mini-masterpiece improves with each repeated viewing.