Monsieur Klein

In Joseph Losey’s Kafkaesque parable about individual guilt in the survival of fascism, Jeanne Moreau shines alongside Alain Delon.

Paris, 1942. The selfish and hardened art and antiques dealer Robert Klein is a cold-blooded businessman. With the French capital occupied by German troops, he takes advantage of the situation, exploiting the anxious and remaining Jewish population wherever he can. Those oppressed and driven into financial desperation turn to him, selling their possessions at a pittance to get the money they urgently need to survive. Greedy for profit, Klein buys Jewish-owned property for next to nothing, intending to make a fortune from it. But when his name unexpectedly appears on the subscriber list of a Jewish newspaper, Klein becomes the target of the Nazi authorities. From that moment, he experiences the full brutal force of the totalitarian regime.

The film was nominated for seven César Awards in 1977, winning in the categories of Best Film, Best Director, and Best Production Design. Having fled to European exile due to his ties to the Communist Party, Losey once again created a socially critical and highly debated masterpiece with *MONSIEUR KLEIN*.