Harry un ami qui vous veut du bien (2000)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Dominik Moll

Writers:

Dominik Moll (scenario) and
Gilles Marchand (scenario) ...

Release Date:

15 August 2000 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Who needs enemies?

Plot:

Harry knew Michel in high school; they meet again by accident, Harry inserts himself in Michel's life... and things take a sinister turn.

Plot Keywords:

Writer | Writing | New Car | Psychopath | Poetry

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 7 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Laurent Lucas	...	Michel
Sergi López	...	Harry (as Sergi Lopez)
Mathilde Seigner	...	Claire
Sophie Guillemin	...	Prune (Plum)
Liliane Rovère	...	Mother
Dominique Rozan	...	Father
Michel Fau	...	Eric
Victoire de Koster	...	Jeanne
Laurie Caminata	...	Sarah
Lorena Caminata	...	Iris

Also Known As:

Harry, He's Here to Help (International: English title) (UK) (original subtitled version)
Harry Is Here to Help (USA)
With a Friend Like Harry, un ami qui vous veut du bien (USA) (complete title)
With a Friend Like Harry... (USA)

MPAA:

Rated R for language, some violence and a scene of nudity.

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

France

Language:

French | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Iceland:16 | Malaysia:U | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Mexico:B | New Zealand:M | Portugal:M/16 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Château Hôtel Mont-Royal, La Chapelle-en-Serval, Oise, France

Company:

Canal+

Quotes:

[on how to deal with difficult parents]
Harry Ballestero: You have to overreact.

Movie Connections:

Edited into Making of 'Harry un ami qui vous veut du bien' (2001) (V)

Soundtrack:

Ramona

An enjoyable thriller, nothing more, nothing less.

'Harry, He Is Here To Help' is a pretty awful title for a very entertaining French thriller. I can't claim it is the greatest thriller I've ever seen, or that it will change your life, but it's well written with interesting characters, isn't as obvious and predictable as most Hollywood movies in this vein, and it has a satisfying conclusion. As modern thrillers go, it's a very enjoyable one and should please most fans of the genre. The strength of the movie is in the performances of the two main male leads, Larent Lucas who plays Michel and Sergi Lopez who plays Harry. I can imagine if this was remade in Hollywood and they were played by (insert likely actors here) just how obvious and stereotypical their characters would be. Michel bumps into Harry while traveling with his wife Claire (Mathilde Seigner) and three young daughters. Harry is an old school chum that Michel has long forgotten, but it quickly becomes obvious that Harry remembers Michel, quoting from memory a poem he wrote in High School that Michel can hardly even recall writing. Harry charms Michel and pretty soon Harry and his beautiful girlfriend Plum (Sophie Guillemin) are invited along to Michel and Claire's modest holiday house. Harry is quirky but charming and reveals that he is independently wealthy. His reminisces about Michel's youthful writing stirs up something long forgotten in Michel, and this, along with Harry's insistence on helping financially, creates tension between Michel and his wife. However things aren't as straightforward as that. Harry has other ideas in mind... I won't spoil what happens as the story progresses, that would ruin the fun. An enjoyable thriller, nothing more, nothing less. Highly recommended.