Thus begins Man on the Train Patrice Leconte's spare, comic and masterfully told French film about the destiny of two men.

The mysterious man is named Milan (Johnny Halliday) and the older gentleman is named Manesquier (Johnny Halliday). Both men are at the opposite ends of the spectrum. Milan is an unshaven tough character who keeps to himself and has come into town to carry out a robbery while Manesquier is well dressed, talkative and - as a former school teacher - trusted and liked by everyone in the town.

The film explores their interesting relationship and what happens over the course of a couple of days as Milan prepares for a heist and as Manesquier considers taking a real chance in his life and helping him commit his crime.

But rather than a typical slap-dash caper flick The Man on the Train is a character study with allegorical overtones. Over the course of the 90 minute film we learn that both men want a change in their lives. Milan wants stability while Manesquier wants adventure. Milan has never really settled down before while Manesquier has been settled down for far too long. Essentially both men have what the other one wants and the film explores the way that they begin to inhabit each other's lives and make a change.

In real life the two actors are at opposite spectrums too. Johnny Halliday is a rock and roll singer while Jean Rochefort is a mild-mannered character actor. Director Patrice Leconte (who has directed such great films as Ridicule, The Hairdresser's Husband and Girl on the Bridge) directs the actors with consummate skill and keeps the film constantly interesting with his gifted storytelling skills.

I have read that Milan may in fact be a figment of Manesquier's imagination but I'm not sure I buy that. Nonetheless, it proves that the film has the ability to garner more than one interpretation, which makes a second viewing almost a must.

Video:
The DVD is anamorphic and presented in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Many interior scenes are dark or utilize natural light and in the first half many of the scenes appear to lean more toward a blue-tinted look. The image is not super clean, which is good. It is slightly grainy just as it looked in the theatre.

Audio:
The audio is presented in Dolby Digital and sounds good. The dialogue is in French with optional subtitles and the soundtrack is a also quite interesting in that there are a lot of exterior sounds that sometimes add a level of imaginative mystery to the film.

Extras:
No extras whatsoever.

Overall:
The Man on the Train is - on the surface - a simple film but it tackles interesting ideas about identity, growing old and experiencing life. The film is very well acted as well as beautifully shot and directed by Patrice Leconte –one of France's finest directors. The DVD looks great but there are no extras. I highly recommended watching the film but the DVD is simply recommended.