Roman de Gare

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Roman de Gare, also called Crossed Tracks, is a 2007 French mystery-thriller directed by Claude Lelouch (credited in the film as Hervé Picard).

Plot in simple terms
The story begins with a famous writer being questioned about a murder. The action then follows a young woman stranded at a highway rest stop. A man offers her a ride, and the film unfolds through a series of mysterious identities. There is an escaped rapist-killer who performs magic tricks, a man who has abandoned his family, and a writer’s assistant. The unknown man secretly records a tale about a woman in danger. The trio travels from the rest stop to the woman’s parents’ home, where her daughter is living. The woman herself lives in Paris and says she is a hairdresser. The man grows close to the daughter and then disappears for hours. By the end, the story lines come together and the audience learns who each mysterious character is, as well as the true role of the writer.

Production notes
During filming, the press was fooled into thinking a new young filmmaker named Hervé Picard directed the project. Early screenings ran without credits. Just before Cannes, Lelouch revealed he was the director and that Picard was actually his tennis coach. The deception mirrors one of the film’s themes: someone taking public credit for another’s writing.

Release and reception
Roman de Gare opened in France on June 27, 2007, and was released in the United States on April 18, 2008. The movie runs 103 minutes. It is a French production starring Dominique Pinon, with Fanny Ardant, Audrey Dana, Zinedine Soualem, Myriam Boyer, and Michèle Bernier in supporting roles. The score is by Gilbert Bécaud and Alex Jaffray; cinematography by Gérard de Battista; editing by Jean Gargonne and Stéphane Mazalaïque. The US distributor was Samuel Goldwyn Company. The film grossed about $4.8 million worldwide and received positive reviews in the United States, with about 87% on Rotten Tomatoes. The title Roman de gare is French slang for a trashy novel one reads on a train.