Dominique Rozan, Laurent Lucas, Laurie Caminata

A spiraling descent into fear which begins on a quietly ominous note as family man Michel sets out for his summer home in the countryside with his wife Claire and their three screaming infant daughter...( read more  read more... )s. A blistering heatwave and the increasingly cranky children force the family to make a pitstop. In the rest area, Michel bumps into Harry, an old school classmate he doesn't remember, but who seems to remember Michel fondly. Harry, so impressed with Michel when they were younger, even recites from memory a poem Michel wrote as a teenager. Soon, Harry and his voluptuous fiancee, Plum, are joining Michel's family on their vacation. Harry seems to be just what the family needs--his carefree spirit and charm light up Michel's mundane little holiday, allowing him to let go. Yet the friendlier Harry gets and the more generosity and advice he bestows on Michel, the more mysteriously menacing his effects become.

Flixster Users

75% liked it

3,395 ratings

Critics

95% liked it

88 critics

R, 1 hr. 56 min.

Directed by: Dominik Moll

Release Date: April 20, 2001

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DVD Release Date: October 26, 2001

Stats: 141 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (141)


  • February 8, 2008
    Jamie was incredible in this film but the film it self cudda been better
  • January 28, 2007
    A french thriller that takes a number of cues from Hitchcock.

    A man encounters another man and his family, claiming to be an old school friend of his. Hoping to rekindle the friendship, they share some time together. He seems like a nice man, but something lies beneath the surf...( read more)ace. It's a good movie that builds its tension slowly.
  • June 2, 2009
    With A Friend Like Harry is about a family man named Michael who bumps into a man named Harry who claims he knew him in High School . Michael and his family are on their way to their summer cottage and Michael invites Harry to stay. Michael doesn't remember Harry but Harry remem...( read more)bers enough about Michael make him think that he just has a bad memory. Harry also can repeat word for word stories that Michael wrote in High School. He takes them very seriously and thinks Michael should finish a story that he started.

    However, Harry is nuts and wants to eliminate any stress in his life so he can focus on writing again. It starts out simple when he buys Michael a new truck since the family car has no air and breaks down. Michael doesn't like that since he likes to solve his own problems. While Harry also starts to think he needs to eliminate any person that is in Michael's way of being a writer, in Harry's opinion anyway.

    The movie was a good idea for a thriller but it can be silly and a bit slow. Sergi Lopez is very creepy though as Harry even the stories he's obsessed with are pretty goofy. I mean, he's obsessed with Michael finishing a sci-fi story about flying monkeys. We also get a strange dream sequence where Michael is even dreaming about a flying monkey. While the end is just simple with no big confrontation like an American film probably would have had. It's refreshing but anti-climatic, it still worked though I think since it didn't really need a big confrontation. The violence is kind of done in a dark comedy sort of way that I haven't seen since a Psycho film and I liked that about the movie .
  • September 21, 2008
    Smartly done French thriller, well acted with an intriguing yet simple plot. This movie will make you think the deeper you become involved watching it, but has a rewarding pay-off. Definitely a creepy, sinister, pychological
    experience!
  • May 7, 2006
    This dragged on at parts and wasn't really scary or anything. Just a bit weird.
  • November 6, 2009
    Well this was certainly a very enjoyable film. Very well done. It leaves you thinking at the end. I'll be wondering for a long time now was "Harry" a real person or a figment of Michel's imagination. There's a lot of commotion about this on the film's IMDB boards, and I'm int...( read more)rigued myself. Several plausable incidents lead to the contrary though. For instance how did "harry" talk to other people? But still, despite that one question, it still seems possible that Harry was Michel's alter ego which allowed him to become the man he always wanted to be.

    The film is very well done. Excellent directing and acting. Superb.
  • September 18, 2009
    ShellyLuca recom: "Harry is awesome......is creepy,twisted, and is a bit funny but is much scarier than the cover might suggest..friends like Harry are hard to find nowadays...."
  • September 16, 2009
    AHHHHHH I love Harry.......he could be my friend anytime.
  • August 6, 2009
    Exciting leisurly walk with a psychopath. This film moves at a slow steady pace and is not for fans of "slasher among us" quick fix. Reminds me of Hitchcock and his subliminal protrayal of characters that appear normal and just have that certain creepiness we the viewer cannot ...( read more)quite put our finger on.
  • March 18, 2009
    It takes a very intelligent director to find a proper place for an actor as overwhelmingly intense as Sergi López. I mention this because this film is so much more than a hitchcockian thriller - it is rather what Hitchcock would be watching these days. Harry is as obsessed as B...( read more)runo Anthony in "Strangers in a Train", and predictability is an illusion in this ironic portrait of the benefits of inaction.

Critic Reviews


April 27, 2001
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Movies like this are more intriguing than thrillers where the heroes and villains wear name tags. full review

View more With A Friend Like Harry reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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