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Movie
Poster for I Hired a Contract Killer

I Hired a Contract Killer

1990 · 80 min

A deadpan, drab-toned tragicomedy that drifts between quiet despair and sudden tenderness, watching a lonely man stumble toward an unlikely second chance.

Overview
After losing his job and realizing that he is alone in the world, a businessman opts to voluntarily end his life. Lacking courage, he hires a contract killer to do the job. Then, while awaiting his demise, he meets a woman and promptly falls in love.

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Stream in the UK
  • MUBI Amazon Channel
More options Data from JustWatch
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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • melancholicstrength 2 of 3
  • absurdstrength 2 of 3
  • cynicalstrength 2 of 3
  • warmstrength 1 of 3
Pacing
slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • isolation
  • loneliness
  • love
  • death
  • fate
Places
  • big city
  • workplace
  • home
Era
contemporary
Audience
adult
Form
None
Content intensity
  • Gore mild
  • Language mild
  • Violence mild
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action3
Horror2
Humour6
Realism6
Romance5
Tension5
Darkness6
Complexity5
Emotional weight6

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Where to watch in the UK

Stream
  • MUBI Amazon Channel

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres
comedy, crime, drama, romance
Directed by
Aki Kaurismäki
Written by
Aki Kaurismäki
Starring
Jean-Pierre Léaud, Margi Clarke, Kenneth Colley, T.R. Bowen, Imogen Claire, Angela Walsh, Cyril Epstein, Nicky Tesco
Cinematography
Timo Salminen
Runtime
80 min
Country
Finland, France, Germany, Sweden, United Kingdom
Languages
French, English

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