Farewell Mr. Haffmann

After having directed three excellent thrillers For Her (1996), A bout pourtant (2010) and Mea culpa (2014), the director and screenwriter turned to comedy with two admittedly original films (Radin! (2016) and The Game (2018)) but which did not have the effectiveness and the rhythm of his previous films. It is therefore easy to understand his desire to return to a much more ambitious film. Set during World War II, Farewell Mr. Haffmann veers between human drama and closed-door thriller in which the city of Paris is under the yoke of the German occupation. 

Set in 1941, Joseph Haffmann (Daniel Auteuil) is a talented jeweler who finds himself faced with the fact that the Germans are deporting all Jews en masse. In order to keep his business, he will sign a pact with his employee François Mercier (Gilles Lellouche) who dreams only of recognition and to make his wife Blanche (Sara Giraudeau) happy. By bequeathing his store during the occupation, François Mercier hopes to be able to find it once the German occupation is over. After being able to send his family to the free zone, François Mercier fails to join his family and must hide in the basement of his house and, above all, undergo the influence of his employee who has a desire for grandeur.

By adapting the homonymous play by Jean-Philippe Daguerre to the cinema, director Fred Cavayé delivers a totally mastered film based on the confrontation between two men in a dangerous climate. Avoiding the static aspect of a play, Farewell Mr. Haffmann is a moving human tragedy that reflects a sad French period. The great care taken in the historical reconstruction brings to this film an important realism and makes us unable to remain insensitive to the human drama that is played out before us.

While other films taking place during the Second World War tend to stage impressive action scenes (we will think in particular of many Hollywood films like Dunkirk (2017) or Saving Private Ryan (1998), the film Farewell Mr. Haffmann prefers to play on the psychological aspect of the action and remain permanently realistic. By succeeding in creating a real dramatic tension, this film catches us totally and we can only take Joseph Haffmann's side and appreciate a moral and perfectly brought end.

Farewell Mr. Haffmann
Directed by Fred Cavayé
Produced by Vanessa Djian, Fabrice Gianfermi, Philippe Rousselet, Patrice Arrat, Gauthier Lovato
Written by Fred Cavayé and Sarah Kaminsky, based on the play by Jean-Philippe Daguerre
With Daniel Auteuil, Sara Giraudeau, Gilles Lellouche, Nikolai Kinski, Mathilde Bisson, Anne Coesens, Tiago Coelho, Néma Mercier, Alessandro Lanciano, Frans Boyer
Music : Christophe Julien
Image : Denis Rouden
Editing: Mickael Dumontier
Production companies: Vendômes Production, Dadai Films, France 2 Cinéma and Belga Productions
Distributed by Pathé (France)
Release date : January 12, 2022 (France)
Running time : 116 minutes

Seen on February 7, 2022 at Gaumont Disney Village, room 15 place A19

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