This was a joy to watch. Sometimes a director and his/her actors are utterly in sync. Here we have the unfolding of two somewhat mysterious characters. One leads a life of violence; the other is living an unfulfilled tedious existence. The man on the train arrives and the kind professor offers him a place to stay. At first they seem to be so far apart in their life stories, one would think they would never connect. As time passes, we find out that neither is happy with his lot. The violent man begins to see the almost monotonous life of the professor as very desirable, while the aged teacher feels that he has never had any adventure. A bank holdup is in the offing and he even asks to be a part of it. The best part of the film is the learning process that takes place as a sort of love develops between them. The old professor is very ill and is going to have surgery, and his relationship with his new friend sustains him, though he is filled with fear. See this for the subdued yet powerful portrayals of the two stellar actors.

Milan (Johnny Hallyday) is a criminal who arrives in a quiet small town by train. Monsieur Manesquier (Jean Rochefort) is one of the few people around and he invites Milan to stay in his home. He's a retired teacher and the two men talk. They find each other's lives appealing.

The problem for me is that there is some kind of appeal from these two people acting together. They are some well-known french personalities. Of course, I have no idea who these people are and I don't find their interactions that special. It has some interesting moments but it's way too slow most of the time. I kept waiting for things to happen. It's a french thriller with a different sensibility. The dialog is the most important part of the movie and it probably deserves to be listened to in French. I'm not able to appreciate this movie.

I liked the improbable but interesting story about a dull older man living vicariously through a tough stranger who has come to town to rob a bank. He wanted "one last thrill" and the crook wanted, at least in a small way, some connection to normalcy. This was the basis for an intriguing film. In fact, I liked it until the last 15 minutes or so--when the movie switched to SLOW MOTION-mode and got all artsy and "symbolic". Well, I for one, did not need all this, as it was very possible to understand the symbolism and juxtaposition of characters WITHOUT the painfully slow camera-work. Simply running the film in regular speed and not making the symbolism so obvious would have worked better, I think. Because of the poor handling of the ending, the movie rates a 6 instead of an 8.