Monsieur Hire (1989)
French-voyeur-stalker-romance-tragedy-murder-mystery. Watching this it was impossible not to compare it to Kieslowski’s A Short Film About Love that has a similar premise with a strange romance between voyeur and the woman on the receiving end of the rather unhealthy obsession. I like Kieslowki’s film language and style better, and while the characters in this are also interesting, not to the level of Kieslowski is able to direct. Sandrine Bonnaire in this isn’t nearly as enticing as Grażyna Szapołowska. Though I am likely being a bit unfair to this movie, because it does a lot of things differently with extra complexities with the murder mystery as a vehicle for the ultimate tragedy. An interesting provocative portrayal of loneliness and unfulfilled love.
Rating: 3.5