In his small town just outside of Paris, Monsieur Hire (Michel Simon) is considered a bit of an oddity by the locals. Hire makes no attempt to close the gap and mostly keeps to himself. He meets and falls deeply for a woman (Vivianne Romance) however and it will lead into deep trouble for him. When a well known woman is murdered his odd ways are magnified and a witch hunt begins.
French director, Julien Duvivier, who waited the Occupation out in Hollywood promptly returned to his homeland and threw shade at the French with this indictment en masse of a town in search of a scapegoat. A work of the poetic realism movement, Duvivier strings together scene after scene of gracefully lit, sharply edited suspenseful and tender moments that actually culminates with an actual cliffhanger.
Simon is superb. At first cooly dismissive then painfully vulnerable as he falls for Romance. Romance also makes for a fascinating fatale, more capable of feeling guilt than cold bloodedness. The callous town folk, led by Rita Lecio also make for some excellent hypocritical caricatures in a film that is both murder mystery and possibly a recent mirror to history.
French director, Julien Duvivier, who waited the Occupation out in Hollywood promptly returned to his homeland and threw shade at the French with this indictment en masse of a town in search of a scapegoat. A work of the poetic realism movement, Duvivier strings together scene after scene of gracefully lit, sharply edited suspenseful and tender moments that actually culminates with an actual cliffhanger.
Simon is superb. At first cooly dismissive then painfully vulnerable as he falls for Romance. Romance also makes for a fascinating fatale, more capable of feeling guilt than cold bloodedness. The callous town folk, led by Rita Lecio also make for some excellent hypocritical caricatures in a film that is both murder mystery and possibly a recent mirror to history.