Mortal Transfer (2001) User Reviews (11)

A Very Weird French Dark Comedy

[claudio_carvalho · 6/10 · 27 June 2004]

Michel Durand (Jean-Hugues Anglade) is the psychoanalyst of Olga Kubler (Hélène de Fougerolles), a kleptomaniac and masochistic beautiful woman married with the brutal Max Kubler (Yves Rénier). Michel has a great attraction for Olga, desiring her as a woman. One afternoon, Michel falls asleep during her session and when he wakes up, he finds Olga strangled on his divan. Then he is informed by Max that Olga stole seven million francs from him. Max believes Michel knows where the money is and demands the devolution until the next day. The story has many plot points along approximately 2 hours. This movie is a very weird French dark comedy. The plot is unusual, very strange and irregular, alternating boring and interesting parts and even the genres of black comedy and thriller. The premise is good, but in some parts it does not work well in spite of a great cast. The beauty of the nudity of Valentina Sauca is amazing. Her beautiful body is perfect and looks like a statue. However, this film is only a reasonable entertainment recommended for a very specific audience. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): `Um Enigma No Divã' (`An Enigma on the Divan')

Will be a great video!

[CRAMBAM-2 · 7/10 · 10 February 2002]

I came out of the cinema saying this was an OK film, no more. Better than staying at home Saturday evening. I actually laughed a lot, but I somehow still had the impression that I would have been a great video to rent. It did have a few surprising twists, but something was missing... What?

Entertaining because of nice mix-ups

[gjlmovie4711 · 7/10 · 11 July 2006]

I cannot add much to the comments already given. For those who consider watching the movie: you can expect a nice mix of Scorcese's "After Hours", Kubrick's "EWS", Roman Polanski's "The Tenant" (Le Locataire; funny how Anglade even looks and acts like Polanski!) and some elements of Hitchcock. Nowhere near of a masterpiece, but neither boring or bad. Shooting and directing is flawless, I enjoyed the speed. The film is a bit too long, though. The key-element of the movie is that is concentrated on almost one place (the practice of a psycho-analyst in the center of Paris ). Only few scenes are shot by daylight, the dark atmosphere adds up to the script that focuses on sexual aberration, lies and truth, death, and Freudian therapy. Finally, I should not forget to mention that are some humorous scenes that make the film also fun to watch.

Warm colors, broad strokes and an element of the perverse.

[monty-57 · 27 January 2003]

Jean-Jacques Beineix's new film MORTAL TRANSFER is about the misadventures of Freudian psychoanalyst Michel Durand (Jean-Hugues Anglade), who discovers his beautiful female client strangled on his analyst's couch. Instead of going to the police, he just tries to get rid of the body, leading to a nightmarish and at times phantasmagoric odyssey through a nighttime Paris populated by assorted oddballs. The script is by Beineix and Jean-Pierre Gattegno, from Gattegno's novel of the same name. Anglade provides a great mix of vulnerability and determination as the occasionally hapless shrink. "He's wonderful, he's not afraid of anything," commented Beineix at the film's world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival.

Beineix visited Moscow in 2001 to present the film at French Film Week. In an interview with Russian entertainment website Weekend.ru, Beineix provided the key to understanding his film: "What do we do in the process of psychoanalytic therapy? We try to get rid of the body of our childhood. What do killers do in detective movies? They try to get rid of the body. I just combined these two stories. My film is from the point of view of the psychoanalyst and the patient at the same time. Gattegno and I both underwent psychotherapy. We were amused by the possibility of transferring to acting, to comedy, those feelings we'd had on the analyst's couch. Not one session of psychoanalysis ends without the unconscious examination of the patient's attitude toward death."

Due to its increased complexity, the film is just slightly more challenging to appreciate than Beineix's other work, such as DIVA and BETTY BLUE. Nevertheless, it is just as exquisitely crafted, and is markedly more humorous, albeit in twisted ways. Beineix has a flair for the unexpected - this is a heady mix of genres: a stylish black comedy and a tense thriller at the same time, told with warm colors, broad strokes and an element of the perverse.

WARNING !! Most "Adult"film I've reviewed so far.

[dunsuls-1 · 7/10 · 29 April 2013]

I found this film by accident and watched it.Its pretty good in a adult "French "film sort of way and not really a fetish film in the sense we usually use.My take is a very adult continental view of wacky humans trying to get through the day and those who "help"those who need it,really need as much help from THEM as well. The psycologist didn't kill her,her husband did ( or did he ??) but he is as messed up as she was and the film takes on a sort of "Rashomon"quality,which was reviewed on this bog, with the murder being the center and far more graphic than the scenes in Rashomon were. Mind you thats a simplistic view by me to try to explain it as I have never seen so intriguing a film before and again it illustrates just how "provincial"we can be in the states. Extreme adult content which limits the audience and it does drag a bit explaining things.

Mortally overlong.

[gridoon · 4/10 · 23 August 2003]

The premise is good, but the movie isn't. It's excessively talky and fatally overlong. For Christ's sake, man, this thing goes on for what seems like four centuries and never really gets anywhere. The segment about the dead body that has to be removed takes up most of the movie, and it's tiresome (many movies have done this sort of thing better), though it does give Beineix the opportunity to stage some nice Hitchcockian scenes (like one involving a blind man in an elevator). Overall, if you're looking for a good contemporary French thriller, stick with "With A Friend Like Harry". (**)

life zen-ishly

[enzeru-alone · 9/10 · 15 June 2001]

Another well-done Beineix effort/film. I had the privilege of experiencing 'Mortal Transfer' recently. As always, I enjoy Jean-Jacques Beineix creations, and I, among many others, am glad to see this auteur return. All of Beineix's films invoke zen, as does this one. The zen atmosphere, eros, and a lurking crazy-in-a-good-way quality (and in sometimes nefarious-ways) pervade throughout, again, as in many Beineix films. I like the noir-humor of 'Mortal Transfer' and I laughed devilishly along with the audience. I, as one crazy-poet, find Beineix's artistic expressions on celluloid to inspire me to live life zen-ishly --seeking purity keenly, and simply enjoying life vibrantly.

Complex and funny thriller

[Eamonn · 8/10 · 2 November 2001]

This subtle film will certainly bear repeated watching. Psychoanalysis, perversion, money, and death are among the principal themes, treated with a dead-pan humour that does not hide some serious questions about analyst-patient relationships.

A comeback to form

[Dorthonion · 28 February 2001]

"Mortal Transfer" deals with a subject that has been exploited by New York filmers mostly: trials and tribulations of a shrink are usually connected with the Big Apple. Beineix has not directed a motion picture in the past eight years, but it doesn't show. If you are familiar with his films such as "Diva" or "Betty Blue", you don't come to expect humor in his work, but after an intriguing setup, you'll find plenty of it here. Beineix' films have never been about depicting reality (more about the clash of illusions vs. reality), and this film is no exception. Masterfully photographed, this is a feast for the eyes in which you will sometimes find yourself wondering whether thrill or laughter are stronger. A comeback to form by a master of his craft.

Michel experiences the "grande voyage" into himself

[januce7 · 8/10 · 6 September 2007]

loved the details of Beineix... it is enjoyable to catch them(if you are careful enough) and try to solve the puzzle..... it is rather more enjoyable to fail solving the puzzle though. fortunately there still exist some films that may surprise you...even the name of the movie is surprising since the genre of film is comedy and the title includes the word of "mortal" i am looking forward to see other works of Jean Jacques Beineix.... good scenery; good acting; nice musics...includes all in balance.. and the result is a real success..deserves watching once again not to miss anything....the original novel is a focus of curiosity for me....the dialogs are poetic and are one of the most memorable features of the movie...