Robert Klein cannot find any fault with the state of affairs in German-occupied France. He has a well-furnished flat, a mistress, and business is booming. Jews facing discrimination because of laws edicted by the French government are desperate to sell valuable works of art - and it is easy for him to get them at bargain prices. His cozy life is disrupted when he realizes that there is another Robert Klein in Paris - a Jew with a rather mysterious behavior.
Although Wisconsin-born director Joseph 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 Kafka connection is what makes the film so enjoyable. The story on its own is good, though Klein comes off as a smug fool. Once his life enters the Kafkaesque pointless journey, it gets interesting. We may or may not feel sorry for him (he is not a sympathetic character), but we are interested to see where the mystery goes.
Although Wisconsin-born director Joseph 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 Kafka connection is what makes the film so enjoyable. The story on its own is good, though Klein comes off as a smug fool. Once his life enters the Kafkaesque pointless journey, it gets interesting. We may or may not feel sorry for him (he is not a sympathetic character), but we are interested to see where the mystery goes.