A londoni férfi (2007)

After witnessing a crime during his night shift as railway switchman near the docks, a man finds a briefcase full of money. While he and his family step up their living standards, others start looking for the disappeared case.

Directors:

Béla Tarr, Ágnes Hranitzky (co-director)

Writers:

Georges Simenon (novel), Béla Tarr (screenplay)

Stars:

Miroslav Krobot, Tilda Swinton, Erika Bók

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Miroslav Krobot	...	Maloin, az éjszakai váltóõr
Tilda Swinton	...	Maloin felesége
Erika Bók	...	Henriette
János Derzsi	...	Brown
Ági Szirtes	...	Brown felesége
István Lénárt	...	Londoni rendõrfelügyelõ
Gyula Pauer	...	Kocsmáros
Mihály Kormos	...	Brown segítõtársa
Kati Lázár	...	Henriette fõnökasszonya
Éva Almássy Albert	...	Kurva a kocsmában
Ágnes Kamondy	...	(as Ági Kamondy)
László feLugossy	...	Vendég a kocsmában
Philippe Guerrini	...	Szõrmekereskedõ 1
Jacques Pilippi	...	Szõrmekereskedõ 2
Alfréd Járai	...	Vendég a kocsmában 2

Storyline

One night Maloin, a switchman at a seaside railway station situated by a ferry harbor, witnesses a terrible event. He is just watching the arrival of the last ferry at night from his control room on top of a high iron traverse from where he can see the whole bay. Suddenly he notices that the first of the disembarking passengers, a tall thin figure (a certain Brown as it will turn out later) leaves the harbor, but not on the usual route: after getting through customs, he goes around the dock and then withdraws into a dark corner, waiting. Opposite him, in front of the ship, another man soon appears and throws a suitcase towards the man on the shore. He goes and picks it up, then waits in an dark corner for the other man to join him. When he arrives, however, they begin to quarrel and finally, in the course of the vehement fight, due to a hit that turns out to be fatal, the shorter one falls in the water and sinks, clutching the suitcase in his hand. Maloin is watching the scene, ...

---

Plot Keywords:

suitcase | night | money | ship | seaside | 

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

Hungary Germany France

Language:

Hungarian English French

Release Date:

31 January 2008 (Hungary)

Also Known As:

The Man from London

Filming Locations:

France

Box Office

Budget:

€6,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

TT Filmmûhely,13 Productions,Cinema Soleil

Technical Specs

Runtime:

139 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Extensive dubbing was necessary in part because the Steadicam operator Marcus Pohlus was audibly panting and weeping in several scenes.

---

Goofs

When Maloin and the bartender set up the chessboard and pieces for their daily game, they place the board with a black square in the lower right corner. (The baseball equivalent would be to have the catcher and batter set up at first base instead of home plate!)

---

Connections

Referenced in Novak (2009)

User Reviews

"Austere, existentialistic and expressionistic..."

Hungarian screenwriter, producer and director Béla Tarr's eight feature film which he co-directed with Hungarian film editor Ágnes Hranitzky and co-wrote with Hungarian writer László Krasznahorkai, is an adaptation of the novel "L'homme de Londres" from 1934 by Belgian writer Georges Simenon (1903-1989). It was shot on location in France and Hungary, premiered In competition at the 58th Cannes International Film Festival in 2007, was screened in the Masters section at the 32nd Toronto International Film Festival in 2007 and is a France-Germany-Hungary co-production which was produced by Miriam Zachar, Joachim Von Vietinghoff, Gábor Téni, Christoph Hahnheiser, Paul Saadoun and French producer and chairman of the European Film Academy Humbert Balsan (1954-2005). It tells the story about Maloin, a middle-aged railway signalman imprisoned by his vague prospects who lives in an apartment with his housewife Carmélia and his teenage daughter Henrietta in a port town. One night while Maloni is in his viewing tower, he witnesses a man with a briefcase being killed by another man on the dockside. After seeing the perpetrator leave the scene of the crime, Maloin walks down to the dockside and fetches the briefcase. When he discovers that it is full of English banknotes, he decides to hide it.

Distinctly and precisely directed by Hungarian filmmaker Béla Tarr, this nuanced fictional tale which is narrated mostly from the protagonist's point of view, draws a quiet and incisive portrayal of a family man's internal changes after witnessing a murder. While notable for it's gritty and atmospheric milieu depictions, prominent production design by Ágnes Hranitzky, Jean-Pascal Chalard and Hungarian production designer Lásló Rajk, black-and-white cinematography by German-born cinematographer, film editor, screenwriter and director Fred Kelemen, fine editing by Ágnes Hranitzky and use of sound, this character-driven and narrative-driven crime story depicts an in-depth study of character and contains an efficient score by Hungarian composer Mihály Vig.

This stylistic, dense and significantly atmospheric mystery about a man's moral conflicts and his relationship with his wife and his daughter, is impelled and reinforced by it's cogent narrative structure, subtle character development and continuity, esoteric characters, rhythmic pace and the fine acting performances by Czech actor Miroslav Krobot, English actress Tilda Swinton and actress Erika Bók. This austere, existentialistic and expressionistic neo-noir where the story at times becomes overshadowed by the cinematic brilliance, is a fascinating though alienating experience.