I Hired a Contract Killer

Henri Boulanger, a Frenchman who has worked fifteen years at the waterworks in London, is let go. He has nobody and nowhere to go. He tries to kill himself and fails. Then he walks into a bar, hires a contract killer and orders his own death. The next day he meets Margaret, who sells flowers, and wants to live. The problem is that he cannot cancel it; the killer honours the contract and will not let him go. Aki Kaurismaki directed. Jean-Pierre Leaud plays Henri. Joe Strummer appears briefly as a guitarist. It is a co-production between Finland, Britain, Germany and Sweden. It premiered at the Venice Film Festival, where Kaurismaki was nominated for the Golden Lion and Leaud for Best Actor. The cinematography won a Jussi Award. The same device turns up in the American film Bulworth in 1998; Kaurismaki's film came eight years earlier. Who it is for: viewers who like dry humour, characters who barely speak and Kaurismaki's register. Who it is not for: anyone wanting emotional investment. The film never opens Henri up and holds its distance to the end.