With a Friend Like Harry... (2000)
"Harry, un ami qui vous veut du bien" (original title)

Harry knew Michel in high school; they meet again by accident, Harry inserts himself in Michel's life... and things take a sinister turn.

Director:

Dominik Moll

Writers:

Dominik Moll (scenario), Gilles Marchand (scenario),

Stars:

Laurent Lucas, Sergi López, Mathilde Seigner

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 7 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Laurent Lucas	...	Michel
Sergi López	...	Harry (as Sergi Lopez)
Mathilde Seigner	...	Claire
Sophie Guillemin	...	Prune (Plum)
Liliane Rovère	...	Mother
Dominique Rozan	...	Father
Michel Fau	...	Eric
Victoire de Koster	...	Jeanne
Laurie Caminata	...	Sarah
Lorena Caminata	...	Iris

Storyline

On a hot day in a highway gas station men's room, a man Michel doesn't recognize says they went to school together. He's Harry. He suggests they have a drink, so he and his girlfriend follow Michel and his family to their summer place. Michel is amazed when Harry quotes from memory a poem Michel wrote in school. Harry thinks Michel is a great writer, and he's distressed that Michel hasn't written in years. Harry stays awhile (since his father's death, he's a man of leisure) and sets out to eliminate distractions that might keep Michel from writing. First he buys Michel a car (with air conditioning) and then suspicious things happen. Michel picks up a pen, Harry is gratified, but he's not finished being Michel's self-appointed patron.

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Plot Keywords:

writer | writing | high school | poem | death | 

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Taglines:

Who needs enemies?

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, some violence and a scene of nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Diaphana [fr]

Country:

France

Language:

French Spanish

Release Date:

15 August 2000 (France)

Also Known As:

With a Friend Like Harry...

Filming Locations:

Château Hôtel Mont-Royal, La Chapelle-en-Serval, Oise, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$29,495 (USA) (20 April 2001)

Gross:

$3,818,452 (USA) (27 July 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Canal+, Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC), Diaphana Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

[on how to deal with difficult parents]
Harry Ballestero: You have to overreact.

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Crazy Credits

In the opening credit sequence, a straight-down aerial shot, the letters of the credits cast shadows on the ground (with realistic penumbras) as if they were actually suspended in mid-air.

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Connections

References The Shining (1980)

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Soundtracks

"Ramona"
For piano and violin
Arranged by David Sinclair Whitaker
Piano: Ian Brown
Violin: Jonathan Rees

User Reviews

Fine Graduation Piece from French Hitchcock Student

I'm surprised there aren't more comments about this film, because it is a truly excellent piece of entertainment in the cinema of menace genre. Ordinary guy Michel (Laurent Lucas), hot and bothered while taking his family on a summer vacation, meets up with Harry, a former schoolfriend (Sergi Lopez), who he doesn't remember, and who seems to be both rich and very solicitous of his welfare. When the family car breaks down, Harry buys them a new four-wheel drive (it seems that even the French have not escaped the sports utility craze). Clearly, there is something not healthy about Harry's interest but it takes a while for the real story to emerge, and there are some carefully observed and funny moments on the way.

It has been pointed out, and there are certainly signs, that Harry can be seen as the embodiment of some of Michel's darker feelings, particularly the feeling that the everyday demands of family life and work have prevented him from developing his talent as a writer. Michel also has a certain amount of resentment towards his parents, but the character of Harry grossly overreacts to Michel's `enemies' and in the end, of course it is Harry, the psychotic in all of us, who has to go.

The immediacy of the camera work puts us right in the picture, heightening the tension. There are a couple of scenes inside cars being driven on narrow mountain roads at night as scary as anything Hitchcock (obviously an influence on first-time director Dominik Moll) attempted, and the nearly 2 hours of running time passes very quickly. Great entertainment.