Monsieur Klein

Monsieur Klein () is a 1976 mystery drama film directed by Joseph Losey, produced by and starring Alain Delon in the title role. Set in Vichy France, the Kafkaesque narrative follows an apparently Gentile Parisian art dealer who is seemingly mistaken for a Jewish man of the same name and targeted in the Holocaust, unable to prove his identity.Mr. Klein (1976)|The Criterion Collection
The film is a French and Italian co-production, and premiered at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival. It received widespread acclaim from critics and won three César Awards; Best Film, Best Director (Joseph Losey), and Best Production Design (Alexandre Trauner). Alain Delon was nominated for Best Actor.
==Plot==
Paris, January 1942. France is occupied by the Nazis. Robert Klein, apparently apolitical and amoral,The Criterion Channel is a well-to-do art dealer, Roman Catholic and Alsatian by birth, who takes advantage of French Jews who need to sell artworks to raise cash to leave the country.BAMPFA
One day, the local Jewish newspaper, addressed to him, is delivered to his home. He learns that another Robert Klein who has been living in Paris, a Jew sought by police, has had his own mail forwarded to him in an apparent attempt to destroy his social reputation and make him a target of official anti-Semitism. He reports this to the police, who remain suspicious he may be reporting this scheme to disguise his own true identity.
His own investigations lead him in contradictory directions, to Klein who lives in a slum while having an affair with his concierge and to Klein who visits a palatial country estate where he has seduced an apparently Jewish married woman.
When the art dealer cannot locate the other Klein, authorities require him to offer proof of his French non-Jewish ancestry. While waiting for the documentation to arrive, he struggles to track down his namesake and learn his motivation. Before he can resolve the situation by either means, he is caught up in the July 1942 roundup of Parisian Jews.
The film offers no clear resolution of its contradictory evidence and blind alleys. It ends as he is reunited with Jews who once were his clients as they board boxcars for Auschwitz.
==Cast==
==Symbolism and allusions==
Although Losey integrates historical elements (such as the infamous Vel' d'Hiv Roundup) into the film, it is more than a reconstruction of the life and status of the Jews under the Vichy regime.
The relationship of the film with the works of the writer Franz Kafka has often been noted,The Hour of Reckoning Descends in "Mr. Klein"|The New YorkerFilm Fourm for example: The Metamorphosis, telling of the brutal and sudden transformation of a man into an insect; The Castle, which describes a search for one's own identity by way of getting to know "the other"; The Trial, which sees an accused man become an outlaw of society.
According to Vincent Canby, the filmmakers "are not as interested in the workings of the plot as in matters of identity and obsession".
==Reception==
The film has an approval rating of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 16 reviews.
Vincent Canby of The New York Times who saw the film at the 68th Street Playhouse in 1977, had criticized the role of Alain Delon as Mr. Klein, saying that [he] is neither interesting nor mysterious enough to hold a film together.
===Awards and nominations===
The film was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival but lost to Taxi Driver. However, Monsieur Klein did win the César Award for Best Film while Losey won the César Award for Best Director. Alexandre Trauner won the César Award for Best Production Design, Alain Delon was nominated for the César Award for Best Actor, and in addition the film was nominated for Césars in three other categories.
Award 	Category 	Nominee 	Result
Cannes Film Festival	Palme d'Or 	Joseph Losey 	
César Award 	Best Film 	Joseph Losey 	
César Award 	Best Director 	Joseph Losey 	
César Award 	Best Actor 	Alain Delon 	
César Award 	Best Cinematography 	Gerry Fisher 	
César Award 	Best Editing 	Henri Lanoë 	
César Award 	Best Production Design	Alexandre Trauner	
César Award 	Best Editing 	Jean Labussière 	
== Restoration ==
A restored version was released by Rialto Pictures in 2019.
==References==
==External links==
*
*Mr. Klein, an article by Christopher Weedman, at Senses of Cinema.
*What Cornelius Gurlitt Could Have Learned from Monsieur Robert Klein, an article by Karen Loew, at Forward.
Category:1976 films
Category:Best Film César Award winners
Category:César Award winners
Category:Films about identity theft
Category:Films directed by Joseph Losey
Category:Films produced by Alain Delon
Category:Films whose director won the Best Director César Award
Category:Holocaust films
Category:The Holocaust in France
Category:French mystery drama films
Category:French historical drama films
Category:French psychological drama films
Category:Italian mystery drama films
Category:Italian historical drama films
Category:Italian psychological drama films
Category:French World War II films
Category:Italian World War II films
Category:1970s French-language films
Category:1970s Italian films
Category:1970s French films