• Constanze Engelbrecht, who plays the adult Dagmar is the mother of Julie Engelbrecht, who plays the young Dagmar.

"Adieu, mon ami" is such a movie, too although I suppose that only asmall audience is familiar with it for it was only produced for andshown on German television. Although it’s mainly a story about a girlwho grows and becomes a mature and independent woman it’s also a storyof love, a family and it shows life during WWII and twenty years after.And would you believe it or not – it also takes place in two differentcountries! I have told the plot here on IMDb already, so I won’t repeatit here. What I liked most about it is how careful it deals withsensitive topics, such as first (and unusual) love, the fate of a childwho loses her family through war and finds a new one, homosexuality andhistory. The story is very interesting, has many surprises and touchesyour heart.

The best thing about this movie are its protagonists and actually threeof them breath life into this film. Two of them are ConstanzeEngelbrecht and her daughter Julie who gives her film debut here. Julieplays Dagmar as a child and Constanze is the adult Dagmar. Of courseyou can see that Julie is not an experienced actress but with her charmand freshness she wins your heart and the little mistakes she makes lether performance appear only more realistic. She touches your heart likeonly few young actresses did before her. Constanze Engelbrecht is justa great actress, she is elegant, she is beautiful, she has dignity, andshe can be fragile and strong at the same time. She is one of thosetimeless German actresses like Lilli Palmer and Romy Schneider – awoman with a touch of class but very emotional at the same time whichis just a pleasure to watch. The third person who maybe is the spiritof this film impressed me most – it’s Jens Harzer who plays youngLaurent. Jens Harzer today is a famous theatre actor who successfullycaptured the stages of Munich. His incredible talent was alreadyobvious in this movie which was one of his first movies, I guess. Inhis way of acting he is very much comparable with Nicolas Cage – anactor, who transports emotions through his whole body language,beginning with his eyes and finishing with his gestures. Laurent inthis movie is a young French boy, who was violently taken away from hishome to work in a country whose language he doesn’t know and wherepeople in addition hate the French and fight against them. You canalmost feel his suffering in his every move – he talks slowly andheavily, he moves slowly and as if every move causes incredible pain tohim. On the other hand he can be happy whenever he remembers songs fromhis home country and speaks his mother language. And although this boyis suffering so much, he is the only one who can awake Dagmar from herapathy and bring a smile to her face. When he is with her, you can seethrough his suffering that he is just a boy, who can be happy, too, whocan have fun and laugh and just fool around. He can feel joy and sorrowlike no other character in this movie. Jens Harzer brings this with anexceptional talent onto the screen and you just can’t helpconcentrating on him every time he appears.

All in one I would like to say that this film is a truly great epicstory and touches you deep within. It’s one of those films that youfall in love with and never forget.

2) Sentimental but sympathetic drama wit good characterizations, that doesnothold until the end as it starts dragging along the way. The part takingplace in war time when the friendship between the young German girl andtheolder French boy starts and grows, is more interesting than the secondpartplaying somewhere in the early 70’s. This part just seems to go on and onand has a ludicrous turn in the story; the finale compensates though. Goodcast saves the film from the plain direction.

The first part is the best:the depiction in a quasi documentary way ofthe TV studios,the meal at the hero’s home where his parents andgrand-parents are discussing barroom politics ,the stupid commercials-the movie was prophetic for that matter-.The spontaneity of the actorsis convincing.

There’s a sword of Damocles hanging over the hero’s head:in two months,he will be drafted and will have to fight in Algeria ,French dirtywar.That’s perhaps the most amazing thing:nobody,neither the futuresoldier nor his girlfriends or relatives seem to take it seriously.Hewill go,period.That makes the movie unintentionally a bitreactionary,particularly if we compare it to old wave Autant-Lara’scontemporary "tu ne tueras point".

The second part is nouvelle vague flesh on the bone:a very loose plot,and a very loooong ending.Sincerely,I doubt the 2002 audience canrelate to such amateurish directing.Some will say the hero wants tomake the best of what is left to him :but nothing vibrates andeverything seems hollow.

The movie was a flop and did get critical acclaim afterwards.So,myopinion is probably not very orthodox.

One interesting thing given that it was made in full German occupation -thegypsies in the film, somewhat romanticised though they may be, are clearlyon the side of the angels and by no means insignificant in the plot; andwhat’s more, prejudice against them is discredited as the villains – whoarereally B-A-A-D for a comedy – use it to shake off responsibility for theintended murder.

It’s dated, of course, but it’s still genuinely enjoyable, and proves thatthe French cinema did produce unpretentious quality during the war withoutmajor compromise.

2) People will say that the plot does not make sense.It does in thePrevertesque way.Mainly in the first part,it's all linked with absoluteskill.

On a train ,a two-bit thief (Carette)tries to strip a lady from whatshe has on her:too bad,she's a thief herself and smarter than he is.Sohis wicked cousin Tancrède tells him there's a safe in a house in theneighborhood and he knows the combination.The hero takes his brats tothe robbery ,pretending he's taking them to the dentist.Alas,he iscaught in the act and his victim (Pierre Brasseur)blackmails him:either he kills his rich cousin Ludovic ,or he gives him away to thePolice.

Ludovic (Charles Trénet's best film performance,by far)is consideredthe idiot of the village .Village idiot,yes,but in Prévert's way: thatis to say he is happy,at once mad and sensible,leading his life withoutworrying about the gossips.

His house, where he puts up gypsies,a flower lady, a grinder and moreis worthy of Prevert's poem "Inventaire" . And when Ludovic and hisfriends leave the house,because living alone (and leaving alone aswell) is too hard for him,they make me think of another poem "EnSortant de L'Ecole" .

A good knowledge of French is useful because of the puns,the blackhumor and the poetry of the dialog.

3) This tale of a crook who is rumbled and then blackmailed to off a thirdparty also served Patrice Leconte years later when he fashioned Tangoout of it. This time around it's the great Carette – establishedbrilliantly as an inept robber in the first sequence where his intendedvictim easily disarms him and then, adding insult to injury, returnshis wallet which she has lifted skillfully without his knowledge. Hisnext job is opening a safe in the home of Pierre Brasseur and to which,a la Runyon's Butch Minds The Baby, he takes along a brace of juves.Naturally he is caught in flagrante by Brasseur who then puts it to himthat if he were to consider topping his (Brasseur's) wealthy cousinthey'll say no more about the bungled robbery. Inevitably the cousin,Ludovic, ostensibly the village idiot, turns out to be a nice guy whoLeonard can't help liking. Written by Jacques this was directed by hiskid brother Pierre Prevert who wasn't best pleased at having CharlesTrenet more or less thrust upon him in the key role of Ludovic. Betterknown at the time as a singer songwriter Trenet was woefully inferiorto Yves Montand as both a singer and an actor though he was a superiorsongwriter but all he has to do here is look cute and fill his housewith gypsies and livestock which he manages to pull off withouttripping over the kleigs and in the event turned in what would turn outto be his best screen performance by far. With Prevert on quill thepuns come thick and fast and the writing is as polished as we have cometo expect from him. One to savour.

• This movie made Bronson a European favorite.
• Alain Delon, like many French, had admired Machine-Gun Kelly (1958), one of the first Bronson’s starring vehicles, and he invited Bronson to co-star with him in “Adieu, L’Ami”.

Add to the above the competent direction from veteran JEAN HERMAN and asparse but effective score by FRANCOIS DE ROUBAIX, it becomes easy whythis film has an odd timeless quality.

This is a buddy buddy or bonding story with two loners, bothdisillusioned and world weary, returning, presumably from Algiers. Likethe other colonial powers of this time (post WW II leading into the60s), France had struggled to keep up appearances overseas. LosingAlgiers was a bitter blow.

ADIEU L’AMI (the original title) chronicles the actions of our two(anti) heroes as they struggle to make a go of it, after theirdischarge.

One thing happens after another, and the viewer really has to payattention, because JAPRISOT is lean and economical with his script: ifit is there, then there must be a reason.

Suffice to say, these two men battle it out, physically andpsychologically, one long weekend. Their motivation is quite different,their goals are different – their survival depends entirely on eachother. That ALAIN DELON and CHARLES BRONSON are outwardly so different- the former, arguably a pretty boy, and the latter an ugly thug, addsto the chemistry.

That quest makes for a great story, which in turn, makes for a greatfilm.

Lest I forget there are women in this film, and true to the Japrisotmethod, they too are memorable, though not nearly as fleshed out; tosay much more would be to spoil one’s delight in discovering their truenature.

FAREWELL, FRIEND HAS BEEN RELEASED IN THE UK; AN ANAMORPHIC IMAGE, 16.9ENHANCED; IN English ONLY (not even subtitles for the hard of hearing);A RUNNING TIME OF 110 MINUTES; MONO SOUNDTRACK but the DE ROUBAIX musichas lots of punch!

Highly recommended.

2) This movie is definately one of my favourite movies in it’skind.The interaction between respectable and morally uncorruptable charactersisan ode to chivalry and the honour code amongst thieves and policemen. Ittreats themes like duty, guilt, word, manipulation and trust like fewfilmshave done and, unfortunately, none that I can recall since the death ofthe’policial’ in the late seventies.The sequence is delicious, down to the essential, living nothing out andthus leading the spectator into a masterful plot right and wrong withoutaccessory eye catching and spectacular scenes that are often needed inlesser specimens of the genre in order to keep the audience awake. Nosuchscenes are present or needed.The argument is flowless and honest to the spectator, wich is animportantasset in a genre in wich the the suspense is often achieved through thebetrail of the audience. No, this is not miss Marble…A note of congratulations for the music is in orderA film to watch and savour every minute, not just to see.

3) Farewell Friend aka Adieu L'Ami/Honour Among Thieves isn't perfect butit is a neat and entertaining thriller that sees mismatched demobbedFrench Algerian War veterans Alain Delon and Charles Bronson trapped inthe same basement vault, one to return stolen bonds, the other to cleanout the two million in wages sitting there over the Christmas weekend.Naturally things aren't quite that simple even after they open thevault, leading to some neat twists and turns. On the debit side,there's a very bizarre striptease scene in a car park, Bronson has avery irritating Fonzie-like catchphrase he uses at the most inopportunemoments, Brigitte Fossey, sporting perhaps the most hideouslymisconceived hairstyle of the 60s (it makes her look like a bald womanwhose wig is blown back off the top of her head by a high wind), issomething of a liability – her "I'll cook spaghetti! I'll learn to makelove well! I'll read Shakespeare!" speech is hysterical in all thewrong ways – and it's a shame about the horrible last line/shot, butotherwise this is a surprisingly entertaining and unpretentious numberthat's worth checking out if you can find a decent print.

Cinema Club's UK DVD only offers the English soundtrack, but sinceDelon voices himself and the rest of the cast are fairly well dubbedthat's no great problem, especially since the widescreen transfer ispretty good quality.

4) Bronson made quite a few European movies in the late ’60s before he wentback to America and became a mega-star with movies like "Mr. Majestyk","TheMechanic" and, especially, "Death Wish". This was the first of a couple ofteamings with French star Alain Delon, and it’s also my favorite of all themovies Bronson made in the ’60s. The pair play two soldiers who becomeburglers and let themselves be locked in when they break into a building tosteal the contents of a safe. Much of the movie takes place over nightinside the building, and this is the best part of the movie. The fact thatso much screen time is occupied with their overnight stay, is what Iespecially love about this film and what really sets it apart from whatwould’ve been a modern take on the story had it been made today. -Today,notonly would they be in and out in no time there would also have been lots ofcutting back and forth to other locations outside the building, not tomention a much bigger cast. (-The cast consists of only Bronson, Delon, anda few other minor characters.) The original running time of the Frenchversion is aprox. 115 minutes, which is about 23 minutes longer than theAmerican VHS/DVD version which runs 92 minutes. -This sounds to me like a(long overdue) restoration job for a company like Anchor Bay, who have anexcellent reputation in these matters.

5) It is my personal opinion that "adieu l´ami" is one of the mostunderestimated movies of alain delon. Its psychological structure is of ahighly complex density and needs to be analysed more. Especially theambivalent role of women, sex and violence makes plenty of differentinterpretations possible. I propose to view "adieu l´ami" as an earlyoutlook to the risky and multi-individualistic lifestyle and social attitudeof the late ninetees. Comparing now the plot of "adieu l´ami" to the realityof western societies it must be seen as a masterpiece of impressingdirective power.

6) This will probably be my shortest comment ever; but I havent seen thisfilmin years. However I have always liked it as a great vehicle for bothBronsonand Delon. Its finely rcrafted, smooth and slick and still has a raw edgetoit. When you think about intelligent action films this one is hard toforget.

7) Utterly tactical, strange (watch for the kinky moment of a drop-deadgorgeous blonde acting as pull-string doll for some rich folks),pointless but undoubtedly compelling late-night feature. This unhingedFrench production is a stew of perplexedly unfocused ideas and randomplot illustrations centred on its very charismatic stars (if somewhatanti-heroes) Alain Delon and Charles Bronson. Really they don't get todo all that much, especially during the confined, lengthy mid-sectionwhere they hide themselves in a building during the Christmas break tocrack a safe with 10,000 possible combinations. Oh fun! But this iswhen the odd, if intriguing relationship is formed between Delon andBronson's characters. After a manipulative battle of wills (andchildishly sly games against each other), the two come to anunderstanding that sees them honour each other's involvement and have amutual respect. This would go on to play a further part in the twistysecond half of the story with that undetectable curve-ball. Still theirencounters early on suggest there's more, but what we get is vague andthis is magnified by that 'What just happen there?' ending that mightjust make you jump. YEEEEAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! Glad to get that out of thesystem.

The pacing is terribly slow, but placidly measured for it and thisseems purposely done to exhaust with its edgy, nervous underliningtension. Watch as the same process is repeated over and over again, andyou know something is not quite right and the scheming eventually comesinto play. Now everything that does happen feels too spontaneous, butthe climax payoff is haunting. The taut, complex script is probably alittle too crafty for its own good, but there are some neat novelties(Coins, glass and liquids… try not spilling) and visual symbolisms.Jean Herman's direction is efficiently sophisticated and low-key, butget a tad artificial and infuse an unwelcoming icy atmosphere. Thesound FX features more as a potent note, than that of FrancoisDeRoubaix's funky score that's mainly kept under wrapped after itssizzling opening. Top drawers Delon (who's quite steely) and Bronson (ajovial turn) are solid, and work off each tremendously. Bernard Fressonchalks up the attitude as the Inspector who knows there's more going onthan what is being led on. An attractive female cast features ablesupport by Brigitte Fossey and Olga Georges-Picot.

A cryptically directionless, but polished crime drama maintained by itstwo leads and some bizarre inclusions.

It was a time when Charles Bronson was featured in French/Europeanproductions;for the record ,one can mention "Le Passager de la Pluie"(1969) by René Clément,"De la Part des Copains " (1970)by TerenceYoung and the curious "Quelqu'un Derrière la Porte" (1971)where heteamed up with Anthony Perkins .

"Adieu L'Ami" is arguably best of Bronson's adventures in France ,andbest of Jean Herman's small filmography .It's his only success inFrance "Jeff" feat Delon again being looked upon as a failure. In"Adieu L'Ami" ,Bronson replaces ,in a certain manner,Lino Ventura. Theplot is suspenseful in the grand tradition of Boileau-Narcejac'sframe-ups .It's one of the rare Sebastien Japrisot's scripts which doesnot fall apart after the second reel.The scenes in the corridor climaxthe movie.What a night!

A note about the cast:

Olga-Georges Picot ,after several conventional parts,sank into pornofilms and prematurely died.

Brigitte Fossey,whose performance in Clement's "Jeux Interdits"(1952:she was five then)was praised to the skies around the world,cameback to making movies in 1967 ("Le Grand Meaulnes").It was the secondeffort of her second career.She is still acting .

Although Bernard Fresson (who recently died)had begun his career withResnais ("Hiroshima Mon Amour" ,1959) it took him ten years to draw theFrench audience's attention : his part of a cop was hailed by thecritics.

9) Short synopsis

This film opens with soldiers being released from the company of men.One of them pursues another with a weird scheme the other repeatedlyrefuses. Later they both get trapped in an office building in whichthey want to crack a safe during the Christmas holidays. Hostilityturns into playful banter and then into a desperate fight for survival(during the bantering they lose all drinkable liquids, so it is reallyserious). With exposed, well built and well oiled torsos they ram ahole into a wall and finally manage to escape – only to find out thatthey have been betrayed and set up by women. One gets caught, the otherremains free and is not given away by his companion. A last encounter,a last light for a cigarette, adieu l'ami, farewell, friend.

I found it hard not to see closet homosexuals in the two maincharacters, played by classical he-man superstars Alain Delon andCharles Bronson. They are obviously attracted to each other, theirtreatment of women is abominable and marked by contempt throughout. Thewhole story seems to have a strong symbolic undertow, a little likeDeliverance. It is also very stylish. The safe the two men want tocrack is in a – for the time – ultra modern glass and aluminum tower.It is the seat of a publicity firm, so there are many fancy posters andwall coverings around. The wardrobe is also very good. The ultrastylish Citroen DS (maybe the most modern and elegant car of all times)features large in this movie – perhaps a subtle kind of productplacement.

I can recommend this movie for the actor's performances alone. Delonand Bronson are really sharing the top billing, in a manner that struckme as very fair and sporting. Both do a considerable amount ofacrobatics. I have never seen Bronson better than here, he really acts- and speaks French throughout, with a heavy accent buy very passablyindeed. And it is certainly the man himself we hear. (So the Frenchlanguage version is highly recommended). The police inspector whopursues the two is played by on of my favorite Franch character actors,Bernard Fresson who was Gene Hackman's partner in French Connection II.He is the best brainy police inspector I know. Also very good is formerchild actress Brigitte Fossey as the young ingénue who, as it turnsout, is not so Innocent as it first seems.

Anyone who expects the „old in-an-out" of classical heist movies mightbe disappointed with this film. For those with a little patience thiswill be a rewarding experience, full of novel and original ideas anddirectorial quirks, although it my be a little too brutal and sadisticfor its own sake.

10) This movie is definately one of my favorite movies in it’skind.The interaction between respectable and morally strong characters is an odeto chivalry and the honor code amongst thieves and policemen. It treatsthemes like duty, guilt, word, manipulation and trust like few films havedone and, unfortunately, none that I can recall since the death of the’policial’ in the late seventies.The sequence is delicious, down to the essential, living nothing out andthus leading the spectator into a masterful plot right and wrong withoutaccessory eye catching and spectacular scenes that are often needed inlesser specimens of the genre in order to keep the audience awake. No suchscenes are present or needed.The argument is sand honest to the spectator; An important asset in a genrethat too often achieve suspense through the deception of the audience. No,this is not miss Marble…A note of congratulations for the music is in orderA film to watch and savor every minute, not just to see.

2) In 1798, Napoleon lands his army in Egypt, defeats the Mameluke warlords (the remnants of Ottoman rule), and goes on to Cairo. Three brothers, who are Egyptian patriots, chafe under Mameluke rule and reject the prospect of French domination. Bakr, the eldest, is a hothead, quick to advocate armed rebellion; Ali is more philosophical and poetic; Yehia is young and impressionable. One of Napoleon’s generals, the one-legged intellectual Caffarelli, wants to make Frenchmen out of Ali, Yehia, and other Egyptians, opening a bakery where their father works, becoming a tutor, and declaring his love for them. Is tragedy the only resolution of these conflicting loyalties?

The plot is fairly simple: Fred is a petty criminal and a gambler withdebts. He was dating a vastly younger woman BB (Binoche) whowants nothing more to do with him. He however is obsessed withthe young woman. He is recruited by crime boss victor to carry outa hit to pay for his debt. On the first attempt he is faced withsomeone out to kill him. He then meets the melancholic Collette awoman of his own age, who knows exactly what he does for aliving but is happy to turn a blind eye. The second attempt to carryout the hit leads to the carpark we first see him in and eventually toan empty theatre where things come to a grisly conclusion as Fredrealises he may have been betrayed…

Decout’s film is melancholic and dark, both visually andemotionally. All the characters seem to have been damaged bylife. The film is also strongly influenced by the times. Strong bluesand greys offset by neons light many scenes, while shadows anda jazzy score strongly root the film in the 1980s.

Léotard gives a sure, but unremarkable performance as the jadedFred. Equally jaded is Annie Girardot’s Collette. Seeing her here it> is hard to believe she was the number 1 French actress for a timein the 1970s. Juliette Binoche appears only very briefly as BB, thewoman of Freds obsessions.

"Adieu Blaireau" is entertaining, yet the characters are quite limitedand visually the film is dark and somewhat staid. the direction byDecout, is sure yet un-remarkable. there is nothing here that isn’tin many other french thrillers of the mid 80s.

2) Philippe Leotard was a very talented actor who passed awayrecently.Since his debut (his first important part was in the war movie"avoir vingt ans dans les Aurès" though he already was in TRuffault-who "invented" him,they say- in "domicile conjugal"),he remained aninteresting personality,a Serge Gainsbourg who would have relinquishedmusic for the movies.Like the great singer/composer,his premature deathsuggests he probably used to burn the candle at both ends.To crown itall,his brother was a politician , the minister of defense at the timeat that!(Leotard used to say:me,I’m the minister of "défonce" (=gettinghigh!)) Everything rests on his shoulders and the director contentshimself with a story full of clichés (an umpteenth version of Dassin’s"night and the city" ,if you know what I mean).The lighting effectsfavor dark blue and orange and most of the action takes place atnight.A pre-AA Juliette Binoche briefly appears as a singer.AnnieGirardot could have been an ideal partner for Leotard but her part isso underwritten it’s a wonder we remember her.Watchable for Leotard’sfans but only for them.

The second, alternating narrative strain is the more detailed, complex,and dramatically intimate story of a funeral gathering for the youngerson of a well-to-do French farming family whose aging patriarch, Serge(played by Michael Lonsdale) takes ill, or perhaps simply prepares todie himself, or loses the will to continue living, once the funeralgathering is well under way. This story itself alternates scenesinvolving individual members of the family who come together in thecountry for the funeral with another related but separate sequence ofscenes in which a serene old priest coaches a troubled curé who is toofficiate at the funeral.

Once one's aware of these various strains it becomes clear that 'Adieu'is a long, intentionally solemn and disturbing meditation on death, theexistence of God, the existence of evil in the world (whereupon eveninsect behavior — a very relevant consideration — is brought into thediscussion), and (an especially pressing manifestation of that evil)the international class system by which certain people are non-personsand certain countries are de facto judged as inferior for arbitraryeconomic reasons. One of the central issues is hospitality, which desPallières obviously doesn't think rich countries have to offer in itstrue form: asking nothing of the stranger who arrives and making himwelcome.

In presenting all this des Pallières relies on presenting processes andrituals in detail and at length — including the factory assembling thetruck in the overture; the funeral; the digging of a hole to bury adead pig by a farmer, and so on. Eventually it may be des Pallières'intention to make us see everything as both process and ritual. Theserituals become meditations on the problematic nature of all being inthe world. The director also relies on a sound collaboration withcomposer Martin Wheeler that involves the use of background noise andmusic which at times, from the very beginning, assume a menacingcrescendo-diminuendo quality and are as independent of the action seenon the screen as the two stories of Ismael and the funeral areindependent of each other. We're left to work out the interrelationsfor ourselves.

"A sumptuous, organic, symphonic film," a commentator for theClermont-Ferrand film festival wrote. 'Adieu's' elegance and emotionaleffect owe something not only to the eloquent texts of conversation andvoice-over and the solemn, almost epic movement but to a strong castthat besides the veteran Lonsdale includes Olivier Gourmet, LaurentLucas, and Aurore Clément. Its use of alienation effects does not keepit from being involving because of the sheer humanity and intensity ofthe subject matter.

'Adieu' is an extremely interesting, deeply passionate and obsessivefilm, but also an austere one whose slow movement and fragmentedconstruction are bound to alienate and strain the patience of manyviewers. It has had a warm reception by French critics, who mentionBresson and Godard, but a less enthusiastic one by some members of theaudience, who accuse it of being insipid, a bluff, and, inevitably,pretentious.

The film is distributed in France by ACID, "L'Agence du CinémaIndépendent pour Sa Diffusion," an organization committed to enablingtruly independent film-making to find a larger audience.

Seen November 2004, posted on IMDb May 2008.