Slipper envy in deepest France.

A man rides into town with a battered leather jacket and a face that’s an unspoken threat. He has a headache, but in this sleepy little provincial hamlet the pharmacy is closed and shuttered windows block any sign of human life. Then he bumps into Manesquier (Jean Rochefort), a retired schoolteacher who offers to help, and this fleeting encounter unfolds into a mismatched friendship.

They have three days. After that, Manesquier will undergo heart surgery and the stranger, Milan (French rock star Johnny Hallyday), will take part in a heist at a local bank. However, three days is long enough for each man to realise that deep down they’d like to live the other’s life. Erudite scholar Manesquier would love to be an outlaw, while inscrutable tough guy Milan covets slippers, an open hearth and a slim volume of poetry.

Playful, wordy and charming, Patrice Leconte’s film showcases both the elegant, actorly Rochefort and the raw, tough-guy magnetism of Hallyday to great effect. It’s a testament to Leconte’s vision that he finds harmony in such an unexpected combination of talents. Wendy Ide 21 March 03

L'Homme du Train, on limited release from 21 March 03.