I was bored by this film. I got it on DVD, an excellent print, and as a Louis Malle fan I was expecting something really intriguing. But in fact it was just boring. Yes, I know there were lots of good things about the way it was made: the music is truly sensational; the photography is outstanding. But it goes off the rails quite early. Others have mentioned the mystery of the hook; but what about the improbability of a man in a suit climbing up the outside of an office building in central Paris, in full view of neighbourhood cafés, apartment blocks and pedestrians, with nobody noticing -- although the dangling hook was plainly visible to Tavernier from the street below?
Then there was the fact that Tavernier was trapped in the elevator from Saturday afternoon until Sunday or perhaps Monday morning, during which time he felt the need to smoke a great number of cigarettes, but not, apparently, to relieve himself.
The pace of the film ground virtually to a halt while we followed the florist and her no-hoper boyfriend, mainly because the boyfriend was a very tedious character. His motivation was never explained. The constant cutting to Tavernier failing to escape from the lift and Jeanne Moreau padding around Paris failing to find him did not help.
This is a film that seems to seduce a lot of people with its incidentals musical score, photography, etc. although it lacks the most essential ingredient of a good thriller, viz., thrills.
Then there was the fact that Tavernier was trapped in the elevator from Saturday afternoon until Sunday or perhaps Monday morning, during which time he felt the need to smoke a great number of cigarettes, but not, apparently, to relieve himself.
The pace of the film ground virtually to a halt while we followed the florist and her no-hoper boyfriend, mainly because the boyfriend was a very tedious character. His motivation was never explained. The constant cutting to Tavernier failing to escape from the lift and Jeanne Moreau padding around Paris failing to find him did not help.
This is a film that seems to seduce a lot of people with its incidentals musical score, photography, etc. although it lacks the most essential ingredient of a good thriller, viz., thrills.