Le passager de la pluie (1970)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

René Clément

Writers:

Sébastien Japrisot (writer)
Lorenzo Ventavoli (writer)

Release Date:

21 January 1970 (France)

Genre:

Crime | Thriller | Drama

Tagline:

Who will he terrorise... Who will he attack... Who will be his next victim ?

Plot:

A US Army colonel in France tries to track down an escaped sex maniac.

Plot Keywords:

American | Corpse | Rape Victim | Raincoat | Famous Score

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Marlène Jobert	...	Mélancolie 'Mellie' Mau
Charles Bronson	...	Col. Harry Dobbs
Annie Cordy	...	Juliette
Jill Ireland	...	Nicole
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ellen Bahl	...	Madeleine Legauff
Viviane Chantel
Pierre Collet
Steve Eckhardt	...	U.S. officer
Jean-Daniel Ehrmann		(as Jean Daniel Ehrman)
Jean Gaven	...	Inspector Toussaint
Marika Green	...	Hostess at Tania's
Corinne Marchand	...	Tania
Marc Mazza	...	The Passenger (Mac Guffin)
Marcel Pérès	...	Station Master
Jean Piat	...	M. Armand
Gabriele Tinti	...	Tony Mau

Also Known As:

L'uomo venuto dalla pioggia (Italy)
Rain (USA) (video title)
Rider on the Rain (USA)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence, sexuality and some thematic elements. (orginally rated GP in 1970)

Runtime:

120 min | USA:115 min

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:18 (re-rating) (1988) | UK:AA (original rating) | Norway:16 (1976) | Iceland:16 | West Germany:16 (f) | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:GP | USA:PG-13 (re-rating) (2005)

Filming Locations:

France

Company:

Greenwich Film Productions

Soundtrack:

Le Passager de la Pluie

Bronson and René Clément create an odd arty fusion!.

We are in the South of France, the gorgeous Mélancolie 'Mellie' Mau finds a mysterious stranger is stalking her. She is then raped by the man and after finding him still in the house after the attack she shoots him dead and throws his body into the sea. Sometime later, tough grizzled American, Col. Harry Dobbs, walks into her life and appears to know everything that has happened.

Every once in a while i come across a film that leaves me both intrigued and highly frustrated, Le Passager de la pluie is one such film. I have rated it down the middle with a 5/10 rating because i have to sit on the fence with it, it has many qualities that obviously hit the spot for many viewers, yet it's something of a chore to get through as well. Filmed as a sort of dreamy pondering piece by René Clément, the film is never less than interesting, and at times quite beautiful in texture. Just going by the user comments on IMDb it's apparent that the appearance of Charles Bronson has divided many a viewer, those proclaiming that this turn shows a depth to his acting are quite right, it does, but ultimately when his character gets mean and kicks some, it's the high point of the film, a victim of typecasting it may be, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it Charles.

Fans of Bronson macho movie heaven need not apply here, this is a different animal completely, those into art-house cinema will love the dream scape feeling on show here, René Clément knows his onions for sure, and i was personally enthralled by the performance of Marlène Jobert as Mélancolie 'Mellie' Mau, if i can get any other films she has been in then i'll be an interested viewer. Yet the film falls down for me because after an opening third that is quite brilliant, one that makes me feel that a sense of fear and dread has invaded my well being, the piece sinks into that mantra of style over substance that appears to be pandering for all genre watchers.

I'll never watch it again, but i'm strangely glad that i did catch it.