Des gens qui passent

Modiano isn't for everybody, but if you're a fan like me this is a very enjoyable adaptation of one of his best novels. It remains faithful to the book while joining some of the dots; the book is a more elliptical first person narrative - here we are shown scenes that the narrator can know nothing about. There's also some business with a home movie projector that isn't in the book. This seems to be leading somewhere...or is it? The rabid anti-Algerian racism of the time is made more explicit. (I don't think the chilling line, "Plenty more room in the Seine..." referring to the mass drowning of Algerians by French police during the Paris Massacre of 1961, is in the book.) The actor who plays Jean/Patrick is a dead ringer for the young Modiano, capturing the innocence of the callow 20-year-old smitten with the far more experienced 27-year-old woman. Laura Smet is perfectly cast as "Marie". Non-Modiano fans might be a bit bemused by the absence of answers to so many questions, but if you love Modiano, you'll like this movie a lot. The French DVD has very good English subtitles.