``Frantic'' A Hitchcockian thriller in which a foreigner travels between the light and darkness of Paris.

"Frantic" synopsis

Dr. Richard Walker and his wife Sandra come to Paris to attend a conference. However, his wife is suddenly kidnapped by someone. Richard is busy searching for his wife in Paris, where he cannot speak the language...

Index

• From the "self-destruction type psychological thriller route" to the "caught-up type suspense route"
• Craving for classic Hollywood thrillers
• Wandering the “Dark Side of Paris”

From the "self-destruction type psychological thriller route" to the "caught-up type suspense route"

Roman Polanski's works have a lineage of urban thrillers. In `` Repulsion '' (65), Carol (Catherine Deneuve), who lives with her sister in a London apartment, develops a fear of men and becomes a psychopath. Rosemary's Baby (1968) is a new wife, Rosemary (Mia Farrow), who moves into a New York apartment and is exposed to a nightmarish experience. The Tenant (1976) is a story in which a young man, Trelkovsky (Roman Polanski), rents a room in a Parisian apartment and becomes ``assimilated'' with a woman who has committed suicide due to her insanity .

The story of a "foreigner" who doesn't fit in with the community in a corner of the big city loses sight of the line between reality and fantasy is one of Polanski's best. As a child, Polanski escaped from a Jewish segregation center in Poland and moved around Europe hiding from the Nazis, so the film's protagonists, who struggle in a foreign land, are probably a reflection of Polanski himself. . The fact that he himself plays the lead role in `` The Tenant '' is proof of this.

"Frantic" trailer

``Frantic'' (1988) can also be said to be a work in this lineage. Richard (Harrison Ford), a doctor, comes to Paris with his beloved wife Sandra (Betty Buckley) to attend an academic conference. His wife suddenly disappears, and in pursuit of her whereabouts, he wanders around in a strange land where he doesn't even speak the language.

However, this work has a decisive difference from previous urban thrillers. The title ``Frantic'' means ``half-crazy,'' but Harrison Ford demonstrates a strong mental strength even in critical situations. Unlike the characters played by Catherine Deneuve and Mia Farrow, she never turns to the dark side. There is even an anecdote that Harrison Ford suggested Polanski the title ``Moderately Disturbed'' because he thought the title was misleading.

``Frantic'' has shifted from its previous ``self-destructive psycho-thriller'' route to a ``caught-up suspense'' style, such as `` The Man Who Knew Too Much '' (56) and ``Take a North by Northwest '' (59). It is a very Hitchcock-like classic thriller that takes a turn towards the ``road''.