With a Friend Like Harry... (2000)

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

Michel, his wife Claire and their three little daughters Jeanne, Sarah and Iris are traveling to their cottage in Switzerland to spend summer vacation. When they stop the car, Michel goes to the toilet and a man stares at him. Soon the man introduces himself as Harold "Harry" Balestoro, who studied with Michel in high school and knows him very well. When Michel and his family go to their car, Harry parks his Mercedes Benz and introduces his fiancée Plum to the couple and invites themselves to travel to Michel's house for a drink. Later her recalls by heart a poem written by Michel and shows that he was obsessed for Michel. Harry is surprised that Michel does not write anymore and tells that he is wealthy since he has inherited his father's investments. Michel and Claire are middle-class and are still repairing their cottage by themselves. Harry and Plum stay for the night in the guest room and in the morning, Harry gives a 4x4 V6 Pajero to his new friends. They do not accept but ...

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Plot Keywords:

obsession | poem | high school | psychopath | vacation | 

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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 [France]

Country:

France

Language:

French Spanish

Release Date:

15 June 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

With a Friend Like Harry...

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$29,495, 22 April 2001, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$3,818,452, 29 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?

Trivia

Miramax Films released U.S. version in theaters.

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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 Birds (1963)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

Interesting European Thriller

While on holiday, a drab harried family man meets up with a forgotten high school chum who proceeds to alter the course of his life through a re-awakening of his school-day aspirations; and through murder!

I like this, alot. It didn't fall into the trap of terrorizing simply to satisfy the filmakers psychosis. Everything followed a logical progression, which in itself has become novel in films which all tend to bend over backwards to be innovative and end up more often than not aggravating us. This was interesting, and sorta believable. A few holes here and there, like why in the world would the parents follow Michael in the middle of the night. But all in all, you could see it happening and identified with the characters, Michael included. Dont buy the figment of his imagination theory, for its bunk. I detest dubbings, but all in all the films a welcome diversion from the same ole same ole.