I Hired a Contract Killer (1990)

After fifteen years' service, Henri Boulanger is made redundant from his job. Shocked, he attempts suicide, but can't go through with it, so he hires a contract killer in a seedy bar to ... See full summary »

Director:

Aki Kaurismäki

Writers:

Aki Kaurismäki (story), Aki Kaurismäki (screenplay)

Stars:

Jean-Pierre Léaud, Margi Clarke, Kenneth Colley

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jean-Pierre Léaud	...	Henri Boulanger
Margi Clarke	...	Margaret
Kenneth Colley	...	The Killer
T.R. Bowen	...	Department Head (as Trevor Bowen)
Imogen Claire	...	Secretary (as Immogen Clare) (as Imogen Clare)
Angela Walsh	...	Landlady
Cyril Epstein	...	Cab Driver
Nicky Tesco	...	Pete
Charles Cork	...	Al
Michael O'Hagan	...	Killer's Boss
Tex Axile	...	Bartender
Walter Sparrow	...	Receptionist
Tony Rohr	...	Frank
Joe Strummer	...	Guitarist
Peter Graves	...	Jeweller

Storyline

After fifteen years' service, Henri Boulanger is made redundant from his job. Shocked, he attempts suicide, but can't go through with it, so he hires a contract killer in a seedy bar to murder him at some unspecified time in the future. But almost immediately he meets and falls in love with Margaret, a flower-seller, which makes Henri realise that his life has some meaning after all. But when he goes back to the bar to cancel the contract, he finds it has been demolished - and there's no way he can get in touch with the killer...

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Plot Keywords:

loneliness | loner | contract to have oneself murdered | telephone book | contract killer | 

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Taglines:

Lej aldrig yrkesmördare i rivningskåkar! [Never hire a professional killer in a condemned building!]

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film is dedicated to the memory of Michael Powell.

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Quotes

Margaret: [Henri has just spend a night with Margaret] What about now? You still want to die?
Henri Boulanger: No no, not anymore.
Margaret: Because you met me?
Henri Boulanger: Yes, that's made me change my mind.
Margaret: Only because of my blue eyes?
Henri Boulanger: Are they blue?

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Connections

Remake of On demande un assassin (1949)

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Soundtracks

Burning Light
Joe Strummer and the Astro Physicians

User Reviews

Whoever never tasted the real fruits of life

The problem of Henri Boulanger is similar to that of Odysseus who told his friends to tighten him up at a pole of his ship before they drive through Scylla and Charybdis, and, to never obey him if he asks them to loose the ties, because otherwise he will be lost for either of the two monsters. In the case of Henry Boulanger it is so that this sober, never-drinking, never womanizing Kafkaesque office-worker suddenly looses his job, when the company wants to shrink. Boulanger, who never had tasted the sweet delirium of alcohol and the seductive odor of cigarettes, does not know a catalytic spirit of auxiliary constructions that would help him over the shock of having lost his job. So, he does what nobody else would do in his situation: he hires a contract killer. However, shortly after having paid the sum to kill himself, he enters a bar where they do not sell tea, so, for the first time, under the horizon of his life coming to a soon end, he drinks whiskey after whiskey, learns how good this is for him and smokes cigarette after cigarette, greedily trying to catch up what he had missed his whole life. There, in the bar, he meets Margaret, his first and therefore biggest love of his life. Clearly, having tasted the real fruits of life, he does not want to die anymore. But how can he make his killers clear that he want to withdraw from his contract? While Odysseus stays cuffed on his pole, Boulanger errs lost like Odysseus through London.

Details

Country:

Finland Sweden Germany France UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 October 1990 (Finland)

Also Known As:

I Hired a Contract Killer

Filming Locations:

Holborn Viaduct, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Villealfa Filmproductions, Svenska Filminstitutet (SFI), Finnkino

Technical Specs

Runtime:

79 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1