Un certain monsieur Grant review: For 1930s spy nerds only

If you are looking for a fast-paced spy thriller, please go look somewhere else. 🕵️‍♂️

Un certain monsieur Grant is strictly for the late-night film nerds who get excited by dusty, early-sound European cinema. Anyone else will probably turn it off after ten minutes of men whispering about blueprints.

The whole thing is about some stolen aerial defense documents. It is the ultimate generic plot, honestly.

This film was actually shot at the same time as a German version called Ein Gewisser Herr Gran. Back then, before dubbing was easy, they would just shoot the same movie twice with different actors using the same sets.

Because of this, the sets feel a bit too big and empty. It is like the French actors wandered onto someone else's stage and tried their best not to knock over the furniture.

Jean Murat plays the mysterious Monsieur Grant. He spends about half his screen time just staring out of windows, waiting for things to happen.

There is this one incredibly long scene where he stands near a desk, slowly lighting a cigarette. You can almost feel the director behind the camera, praying that the microphone actually picks up the sound of the match striking. 🕯️

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Un certain monsieur Grant (1933) through its definitive frames.

If you have seen other early sound-era thrillers like Night Birds, you already know how stiff these early talkies can get. The camera barely moves because those early sound boxes were massive and impossible to drag around.

But there is a weird charm to it. The shadows are heavy, and everyone looks like they might be a double agent, even the guy serving the coffee.

Olga Tschechowa is also in this, and she is easily the best part. She has this incredibly sharp, icy gaze that makes the rest of the cast look like they are half-asleep.

It lacks the crazy, hypnotic energy of something like Svengali, but it works if you just want some moody atmosphere. It is very much a mood piece, even if that mood is mostly "confused people in dark rooms."

My favorite odd detail is a telephone operator who appears for a few minutes. She plugs wires in and out of a switchboard with so much intensity, you would think she was defusing a bomb. 🤷

The film just sort of drifts to an end without any big climax. It just... stops when the documents are found.

It is not a masterpiece, and honestly, some parts are downright boring. But for a rainy Sunday afternoon when you want to travel back to 1933, it does the trick.