Cubussoli Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Crwthod A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

Merolliv I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

Curt Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

jotix100 We are introduced to Bruno Davert as he is being recognized for his many years of service for a paper manufacturer. Little does Bruno know that soon he will be on the unemployment line because the company has decided to outsource the work to a Rumanian firm. Thus begins the story of a man's sudden descent into a crisis caused by the situation in most of the industrialized nations.Bruno devises a scheme to eliminate the possible competition that are looking for the same position he is after. For that purpose, he rents a mail box at the post office after he has placed a phony ad asking worthy candidates for the same position he covets. Bruno selects the five men and a manager that will have to be eliminated for his chances to be better. How he will go about it presents a problem: he wants to use an old pistol that belonged to his father in WWII.Life at home has begun to deteriorate. His loyal wife Marlene has taken part time jobs as a nurse in order to help in a household without steady income. Their married life also suffers because the strain Bruno is going through trying his hand as an assassin. Not content with that, the Daverts find out in the worse way their son has been stealing software programs and faces jail time if found out.Bruno goes through a killing spree eliminating the competitors. His resolve is almost shattered when he has a chance to meet with one of his would be victims that he has followed to a department store after setting up an interview he doesn't intend to keep with the man. In this unhappy man Bruno sees himself as in a mirror.As luck would have it, Bruno seems to get away with murder, but does he really? The last scene of the movie offers a puzzle that is left to the viewer to solve."Le Couperet", directed by Costa-Gavras, is a black comedy for our times. In it, we are taken to see first hand the indignities anyone has to face when corporations such as the one that employed Bruno Davert decide to take the business some place else, leaving the stranded employees to fend for themselves. The film is an adaptation of Donald Westlake's novel "The Ax". Mr. Westlake's books lend themselves for screen treatments such as the one Mr. Costa-Gavras has given the material. Some commentary to this forum suggests this movie to be a film noir, but to tell the truth, only the one sequence might fall on that category and nothing else. It's rather a black comedy of mystery and suspense in our humble opinion.The best thing in the film is Jose Garcia, an actor with a face that goes perfectly with his character. Mr. Garcia was a happy choice, as he never disappoints. Karin Viard appears as Marlene a wife at the end of her rope because her world is crashing on her. Ulrich Tukur and the excellent Oliver Gourmet are seen among the accomplished cast doing amazing work for the director."Le Couperet" is worth the prize of admission, or the DVD rental.

dbdumonteil Costa -Gavras 's body of work does not lack in unity.Except for his two fist movies,which were thrillers , a romantic tale ("Clair de Femme" ) and a comedy that does not count ("Conseil de Famille' ) all that he has made display social and political concerns.From his early French classics ("Z "(He is alive) "L'Aveu" ,"Etat de Siège") to his American period ("Missing" "Betrayed" "Music Box" ) to his French comeback ("Amen" ) there is a cohesion which even André Cayatte ,his closest contender in the field,did not reach.And then "Le Couperet" .Don't be mistaken.It's not that much different from CG's previous efforts.Based on a Donald Westlake novel-a writer whose black humour was fierce- ,it contains lines Henri Jeanson or Michel Audiard would not have disowned.Comedy walks a fine line ,but it walks hand in hand with tragedy .You must watch it seriously to realize what heavy things CG is saying.While making his film verge on parody,he is also putting the French society in a less exalted light than we have been used to seeing it in.Suddenly our world seems frightening (the gas station man who hides a gun in his cash register,the icily impersonal female headhunter -I wish I had had my gun!-)It is really the society of the leave-you-behind and perhaps -I hope not - an omen of things to come in the future.I do not speak of the murders obviously.There are other ways of destroying a human being."When I saw them enter the restaurant ,the German ex-engineer says,I knew that I didn't stand the slightest chance ".The last picture has (and will be) widely talked about.Actually it reminds me of the ending of Mankiewicz's "All about Eve " when Phoebe tries Eve's crown .When you get to the top,there is nowhere to go but down.A film noir,a farce,a psychological drama ,a social satire and a movie where CG talks politics.One of his most accessible and one of his strongest works.At seventy plus,CG is as young as the reporter who bothered the fascists in "Z".He is abetted by Jose Garcia on top of his game.Like this?Try these....."Extension du domaine de la lutte" Philippe Harel 1998"L'adversaire" Nicole Garcia 2002 "Working girl" Mike Nichols 1988

andrabem Costa Gavras is a master of the political film. Political films in general are not my cup of tea. They try to convey some kind of message to the public, and they do it by portraying the persons in a stylized way, losing in depth in the process. People are portrayed realistically but their conflicts are simplified because the political film intends to portray society and its problems - unemployment, hunger, class exploitation and so on - in other words, they talk about the big (lack of bread, for instance) and forget the small (emotions like loneliness and sadness, for instance).Many political films concerned about their objectivity are quite emotionless, or else their emotions are one-sided - bad and ugly live here, beauty and love live there, or the other way around.FEW POLITICAL FILMS are able to bridge this gap: to talk about society and at the same time not forget the individual man and his/her very complex universe and contradictions. SOME OF THESE FILMS ARE the masterpieces of neorealism: "Ladri di Bicicletta" and "Umberto D" by Vittorio de Sica, "Los Olvidados" by Buñuel and many others.Costa Gavras doesn't reach this goal. His films are efficient and convey their message to the public, but they lack warmth."Le Couperet" is nonetheless an interesting film - a man that works as a chemist loses his job and after 2 years of unemployment decides to kill whoever stands in his way to get another job - so he places an ad of an imaginary enterprise in the newspaper offering a chemist job (his professional area) and rents a post box to read the answers he gets. He reads all the résumés and proceeds to kill all the people that are equal or more qualified than him - so that in the end he'll get the job because he will be the only remaining choice. All the while he will go on living normally with his family. He will suffer emotional crises, his marriage will become strained but no one will suspect anything at all of his alternative activities.The film, after all, is very entertaining and gives a sad picture of France (and Western Europe I would say), suffering economic crisis and rising doubts. Is it possible with the globalization to maintain a very expensive Social Welfare and have to face a growing economic erosion? In USA (as far as I know), for instance, some unemployed people live on the streets or under the bridges. In France and Western Europe, unemployed people are still taken care of. Till when? Many enterprises are closing or cutting expenses (that means firing people).Costas Gavras films are good because they make questions about the world in which we live, they make us think, but his films don't really touch me - I would say they provide food for thought but not food for the heart.

hermilosantana2004 I've seen "Le Couperet" and it impressed me.There is a lot of suspense.And influence from Alfred Hitchcock movies.Costa-Gavras himself came to my country (Brazil) to give a lecture and answered questions about cinema and his movies in March 29, 2005.He talked about how he started making movies and the French movies.In his opinion, France is a good place to make movies because the government helps filmmakers and there is at least 150 movies made every year.In March 31, an avant-premiere of "Le Couperet" took place in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.It was great to see this movie having Costa-Gavras present.Amazing.