Hottoceame The Age of Commercialism

SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

Glimmerubro It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

Adeel Hail Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Alex da Silva Bus passenger Marc Mazza lands in a Southern French town/village and immediately notices local girl Marlène Jobert (Mel). He does more than notice her……and she takes revenge. Mysterious Charles Bronson turns up soon afterwards and is interested in the whereabouts of this mysterious passenger along with a bag that he was carrying. He cosies up to Jobert and tries to get her to confess the truth as to what has happened but she is wise to the game he is playing even if she doesn't fully understand it. Neither do we. Who is Bronson and what does he want? The film has two very different sections. The beginning segment grips us with suspense and a feeling of dread that plays against a background of rainfall. Then Bronson appears and things get mysterious but also slightly comic and the film exudes a James Bond-like atmosphere. The cast are good, especially Annie Cordy (Juliette) in the mother role. You are definitely convinced that there is a lot more to her character. She is very strong. However, at the film's heart we have Jobert and Bronson and Jobert is the better actor. Bronson is whatever Bronson does – cruising through the film throwing in some comedy here and there. It's an entertaining film with a satisfying conclusion and leaves you on the upbeat. It could have been very different given the final section as things unravel.

lost-in-limbo A young woman who watches a stranger get off a bus in the pouring rain, soon finds out she's being stalked by that exact man. When at home, the man breaks into her house (as her husband is away) and rapes her. Later on after the ordeal the man still happens to be the house, but she grabs a shotgun and shoots him. Where she would dump the body into the ocean. Then suddenly another man appears on the scene named Harry Dobbs, who goes out of the way to try to convince the young woman she committed a murder without giving too much away.This tightly handled low-budget French / Italian co-production is an improbable, but an oddly bold and stimulating teaser that seems straight forward at first, then suddenly it leads you down many knotty paths (with Hitchcock shades) before breaking out the truth of the matter. It's a real curiously acute piece (adapted from a novel) by director Rene Clement, who gets interestingly respectable performances out of very fitting Charles Bronson (whose character is a hard one to figure out) and Marlene Jobert adding some innocent starch to her role. The film / story really do draw from these two performances in dissecting the character's formal makeup and inner workings in how they play a big part to the scheme of things. It's hard to tell the lingering intentions behind the bigger picture, as it becomes exhaustingly confounding in its investigative details and suggestive developments. The productively sharp script is thoroughly meticulous in disguising the truth; as barriers are broken to only go on to create new scenarios and leads. Stark, moody atmospherics lend well to Clement's leeringly grounded, subdued style where it really breathes of a quiet intensity to its continuously building psychological framework and dour visuals within its slow-going nature. The gloomy opening stages really do build upon a creepy ambiance, which pulls you in and the score is sparsely used, but has a dramatic sting. The performances outside the central turns are finely tailored with the likes of Annie Cordy, Ellen Bahl, Jean Gaven, Steve Eckardt and Jill Ireland in one her first roles starring alongside Bronson.

heyesydays The film 'Rider On The Rain' (or, French title 'Le Passager De La Pluie') is simply a gem. But, do not buy the awful DVD from Orbit Media, released April 3rd 2006. There is hardly any colour and the print is atrocious! I have complained to Orbit and they said they are checking copies, but it is simply a case of poor quality in the Way the DVD has been made from the master. This is the worst DVD release I have ever seen. The picture is not clear enough either. I can't believe this mess. The only place you can get this film is France, but it's all in french (with Charles Bronson dubbed in French). However, the French DVD is by STUDIO CANAL and the print is breathtaking! Be warned.

jminer The film that prompted Jim Morrison to write Riders on the Storm - and his plural indicates what this film is about: a cop and a killer both arriving with the rain. Marlene Jobert is unforgettable as the woman central to the film but incidental to the cat and mouse game the men are playing.Sebastien Japrisot who wrote the screenplay is one of the great French mystery writers - Compartiment Tueurs (The 10.30 From Marseilles)La dame dans l'auto avec des lunettes et un fusil - that's The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun to those in California who want to criticize French films without speaking French. Clement is one of the great French directors. His En Plein Soleil (Purple Noon), based on the work of another great mystery writer, Patricia Highsmith,is a masterpiece, largely because of his stunning young star, Alain Delon. This film is the grainy, rain-driven counterpoint to that sundrenched piece, both essentially downbeat and redolent of their period. Jim liked it, anyway.