The Shrinking Man

2025 [FRENCH]

Adventure / Sci-Fi

Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 80%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 80%
IMDb Rating 5.9/10 10 1168 1.2K

based on novel or book shrinking remake survival philosophical

Plot summary

Paul, is an ordinary man who divides his life between his shipbuilding company, his wife Elise and their daughter Mia. During a sea trip, Paul finds himself confronted with a strange, unexplained meteorological phenomenon. From then on, Paul shrinks inexorably, without science being able to explain why or be of any help to him. When, by accident, he finds himself a prisoner in his own cellar, and while he is only a few centimeters tall, he will have to fight to survive in this banal environment that has become perilous. During this experience, Paul will find himself confronted with himself, with his humanity, and will try to answer the great questions of existence.

Director

Jan Kounen Photo
Jan Kounen

Top cast

Jean Dujardin Photo
Jean Dujardin as Paul
Marie-Josée Croze Photo
Marie-Josée Croze as Elise
Stéphanie Van Vyve Photo
Stéphanie Van Vyve as L'endocrinologue
Serge Swysen Photo
Serge Swysen as Dr. Sicre
720p.BluRay
914.63 MB
1280*544
French 2.0
NR
Subtitles ru   us   de  
24 fps
1 hr 39 min
Seeds ...

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by 7 / 10

'L'homme qui rétrécit' - A Small Story with Grand Ambitions

It probably took the full weight of Jean Dujardin's clout to get a remake like this off the ground - a fresh take on an old B-movie sci-fi classic (one I've always had a soft spot for) - and to put Jan Kounen, France's most stunt-happy director, in the driver's seat. The project was intriguing... and the result, better than expected.After a brief opening scene, which exists mainly to contrast Paul's unremarkable daily life with the random phenomenon that will soon consume it, 'L'homme qui rétrécit' becomes a profoundly physical film - sparse in dialogue, almost entirely carried by Dujardin's performance. The main set-pieces of Jack Arnold's 1957 version (the doll's house, the cat, the matchsticks, the spider...) are all present and accounted for, yet Kounen adds a few of his own inventions. They serve not to glorify man's heroism in the face of nature's indifference, but to explore something subtler - and stranger.Beyond the finely handled visual effects and the timeless fun of watching everyday objects turn monumental - a pin becoming a sword, a tin soldier transformed into an unlikely totem - the film works because it plays everything absolutely straight. Kounen never underlines the absurdity or comic potential of the premise, nor does he attempt to rationalise Paul's condition. The audience is asked for total suspension of disbelief, and in return, the illusion holds beautifully.Less obsessed than its predecessor with mankind's urge to dominate his environment, Kounen's version feels more fatalistic, even poetic. It offers a few low-key metaphysical musings on letting go, nothing revolutionary, but enough to elevate the film beyond a simple sequence of perilous escapes and picaresque set-pieces.
Reviewed by 7 / 10

Little by little...

L'homme qui rétrécit (The Incredible Shrinking Man) is a film directed by Jan Kounen and Christophe Deslandes. This is actually an adapted version of the work by Jack Arnold released in 1957. First, let's note the novel by Richard Matheson who himself wrote the script. The French adaptation does not disguise, it scrupulously respects the initial codes. The atmosphere is identical, such a depth in the treatment of the plot. What are we talking about? Of a man whose life will be turned upside down by an unknown illness. His body will transform with spectacular speed. From there, anguish will arise in the couple and questions about the ineluctable outcome... It is fair to point out that this film is timeless, it is based on a solid text. It was then a matter of being at all costs equal to the masterpiece of 1957. Jean Dujardin gets involved perfectly in the role, the result is remarkable. As for Marie-Josée Croze, a secondary role, she radiates as always when she is facing the camera.I gave it a 7/10 since it's a remake, but the whole thing is smooth and clear.
Reviewed by 9 / 10

Masterfully disturbing

L'homme qui rétrécit is a deeply unsettling and undeniably brilliant film. I am very happy I took the chance to see it at the cinema.When it comes to special effects and acting, both were state of the art. It feels frighteningly real, Kafkaesque as Paul gets smaller, and smaller, and smaller but still tries to live normally, which slowly exacerbates unease, making you wonder if you'll wake up shorter tomorrow too, and the day after, and after...
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