Photo courtesy of Neue Visionen. Catch Le Mystere Henri Pick (The Mystery of Henri Pick) in Berlin cinemas now!
Adapted from the eponymous novel by French author David Foenkinos, The Mystery of Henri Pick follows a young editor who uncovers a forgotten manuscript, lost in the shelves of the “library of rejected books”. She decides to publish it, and when the novel becomes a bestselling sensation, literary critic Jean-Michel Rouche (Fabrice Luchini) begins to (tactlessly) suspect it’s a literary hoax: its author, the late Henri Pick, was a pizza chef who “never wrote anything besides a grocery list”. Thus begins an investigation that slickly blends comedic elements with commentary on intellectual snobbery and self-delusion. It’s a sharp and superbly entertaining literary whodunit, a story-behind-a-story that tips its hat to Agatha Christie and benefits from director Rémi Bezançon’s steady hand when it comes to employing twists to playful effect. Bravo!
Le Mystere Henri Pick (The Mystery of Henri Pick) | Directed by Rémi Bezançon (France 2019) with Fabrice Luchini, Camille Cottin. Starts Dec 26.
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