03/09/2002 - Two very different men form an unlikely friendship in Patrice Leconte's intense new film

Patrice Leconte’s latest film, L’homme du train, in competition at the 59th Venice Film Festival, is a tale of what might have been. Set in a small provincial town in France, it is the story of a chance encounter between two very different men, played by French icons, Jean Rochefort and rockstar Johnny Halliday, each of whom discovers that he would have loved to have lived the other’s life. Leconte was inspired by a splendid poem by Guillaume Apollinaire and does a wonderful job bringing his “odd couple” to life. Rochefort and Halliday know they are too old to change their lives, but not too old to dream. “This film is all about these two actors meeting. Films are born from meetings, and the exchange of thoughts and ideas. The beauty of film lies in facilitating the meeting of two different worlds.”
If there is a lesson to be learnt in this film, it is the importance of self-irony and the futility of regret, especially when accompanied by bitterness. It’s a story about surviving with dignity and always seeing the funny side of life. No matter what. The two men set off on a final fateful journey, each laughing at the other’s memories of younger days. “Self-irony is the most important thing in the world. Nobody should ever themselves too seriously,” said Leconte who confided his secret formula: “Making films is really about respect. You must respect the characters, locations and light. Perhaps I am being presumptuous but this is the way I have always made films.”

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(Translated from Italian)