A Man in a Hurry

Alain runs a large company, counts every minute and gives his time to nobody. After a stroke in his office his speech breaks down: he scrambles words, cannot finish a sentence, and his memory skips. He begins working with Jeanne, a speech therapist, and, forced to slow down, sees for the first time how much of his own life he has missed. Hervé Mimran drew on the book in which Christian Streiff, formerly head of Peugeot Citroën, described his own stroke; Streiff later said the authoritarian, contemptuous executive in the film did not reflect him. Fabrice Luchini carries the physical side of aphasia and Leïla Bekhti plays the therapist. Who it is for: viewers who like French drama about illness and relearning. Who it is not for: anyone expecting a departure from the formula, which the film keeps.