Plot from Imdb: "In Paris, the shy bureaucrat Trelkovsky rents an old apartment without bathroom where the previous tenant, the Egyptologist Simone Choule, committed suicide. The unfriendly concierge (Shelley Winters) and the tough landlord Mr. Zy establish stringent rules of behavior and Trekovsky feels ridden by his neighbors. Meanwhile he visits Simone in the hospital and befriends her girlfriend Stella. After the death of Simone, Trekovsky feels obsessed for her and believes his landlord and neighbors are plotting a scheme to force him to also commit suicide."
Forget "Gai Paris" and welcome to "Grey Paris". For all the naive fans of the french capital of Love, this movie is a supreme antidote. Based on a novel by Roland Topor (an amazing illustrator and writer, also from polish origins, he collaborated on the great 1973's animated feature "Fantastic Planet" from René Laloux), set in a classic historical building of Paris, under the constant watch and disapprobation of his neighbors, the main character of this movie reflects very well the paranoia of Roman Polanski himself., at that time of his life (just after he flew from the US to avoid being jailed again). Apparently, I read somewhere that Polanski hates this movie now, because it became somehow of a "art movie". I don't see it that way. I think it's a mesmerizing tale of "estrangement", that anybody who had lived in a foreign place or country can related to. The oppressive mental disturbance of Trelkovsky is amazingly shown by subtle techniques (the "off scale" sets of the flat that make Trelkovky smaller or that create forced perspectives) and by the great acting of Polanski himself. The erotic tension of Isabelle Adjani character, the supporting roles of Terklosky co-workers and neighbors are really adding to the feeling of being lost. Some very dark moments of humor helps breathing a little but it comes with tremendous violence and finally gets you even deeper into the darkness. Sucked into identification and depression, the main character has no choice but to close the infernal circle of a doomed destiny. Great masterpiece from a great director. Another must-see.
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