Paris, France, 1942, during the Nazi occupation. Robert Klein, a successful art dealer who benefits from the misfortunes of those who are ruthlessly persecuted, discovers by chance that there is another Robert Klein, apparently a Jewish man; someone with whom he could be mistakenly identified, something dangerous in such harsh times.
Alain Delon
Mr. Robert Klein
Jeanne Moreau
Florence Klein
Francine Bergé
Nicole
Juliet Berto
Jeanine
Jean Bouise
Seller
Suzanne Flon
Doorwoman
Massimo Girotti
Charles
Michael Lonsdale
Pierre
Michel Aumont
Jew Affairs Section Official
Roland Bertin
Newspaper Director
Jean Champion
Diener
Etienne Chicot
Policeman
Magali Clément
Lola
Gérard Jugnot
Photographer
Hermine Karagheuz
Young Worker
Jacques Maury
Professor Montandon
Fred Personne
Police Commissioner
Francine Racette
Françoise / Cathy / Isabelle
Isabelle Sadoyan
Examined Woman
Louis Seigner
Mr. Klein's Father
Elisabeth Kaza
Carole Achache
Lucienne Le Marchand
Rosine Rochette
Maurice Vallier
Pierre Vernier
Policeman
François Viaur
Joseph Losey
Un Homme au Vel d'Hiv (uncredited)
Brigitte Ariel
(uncredited)
Marius Balbinot
(uncredited)
Maurice Baquet
Un Musicien (uncredited)
Philippe Brizard
(uncredited)
Jenny Clève
(uncredited)
Raymond Danon
(uncredited)
Christian de Tillière
Le Commissaire-Priseur (uncredited)
Michel Delahaye
(uncredited)
Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu
Extra (uncredited)
Pierre Frag
Le Marchand de Journaux (uncredited)
Mireille Franchino
(uncredited)
David Gabison
Le Groom (uncredited)
Maurice Jany
Le Chauffeur à Ivry-Bataille (uncredited)
Stephane Quatrehomme
Le Fils de Pierre (uncredited)
Jean Topart
La Voix du Speaker (voice) (uncredited)
Danielle Verne
Une Déportée (uncredited)
Dany Kogan
Michelle
Thierry de Brem
Director
Joseph Losey
Co-Writer
Costa-Gavras
Co-Writer
Fernando Morandi
Screenplay
Franco Solinas
November 5, 2023
7
Alain Delon is near his best as the eponymous, rather odious, art dealer quite happily fleecing the terrified Jewish community of their precious possessions at cut race prices as they make preparations to try and flee the Nazi occupation of Paris. It's when one such victim is leaving his elegant apartment one day that "Klein" notices a Jewish newspaper at his door - with his name on it! He goes to the police to make it clear that he is not the "Robert Klein" on the address, but do they believe him? Do they think that perhaps he is trying to pull the wool over their eyes too? He concludes that the only way he can be certain is to track down the real doppelgänger before he ends up suffering the same dispossession and deportation as those he had thus far all too readily exploited. One can never have enough of Jeanne Moreau and her role as the enigmatic "Florence" is a little undercooked here, but as the rest of this complex thriller builds up steam we see Joseph Losey using Delon, and our own appreciation of just how terrifying it must have been for most during the occupation let alone the Jewish population, as weapons to potently reveal that terror and to ultimately maybe even humanise - as well as, perhaps, ridicule - this most venal and shallow of men. Is he now the hunted? Can he escape with his life? The more he thinks he has swum away from danger, the more the maelstrom seems to embrace him - and that catch 22 scenario is enthralling to watch play out here. It's cleverly photographed with a score that augments our own - and his - sense of increasing peril and frustration and though it's perhaps just a little slow at the start, it turns into a cracker.
Status:
Released
Original Language:
French
Budget:
$0.00
Revenue:
$0.00