UW Cinematheque | The Strange Mr. Victor (L’Etrange monsieur Victor) (1938)

Victor (Raimu), a seemingly respected citizen and shop owner in a small provincial community, is, in fact, a murderous underworld boss. When an innocent man (Blanchar) is blamed for one of Victor’s crimes, he escapes from prison and seeks shelter with the one person he knows he can trust, the “upstanding” Monsieur Victor! Filled with humor and suffused with a glowing humanism, Grémillon’s superb film is a surprising tale without traditional heroes and villains, a movie worth comparing to the best of Jean Renoir. A new 4K restoration will be screened.