Leon (5 Stars)

"Leon", called "The Professional" in America, is a deeply emotional film despite its violence. It tells the story of a hitman in New York who lives alone in a poor apartment. He's earned a lot of money, but he's never touched it, apart from buying the most basic needs of food and clothing. Why should he need luxury? He never goes on holiday because he's always working. He's a professional who lives for his job and nothing else.

Leon's peaceful professional life is shattered when he meets a 12-year-old girl called Mathilda. He takes her into his apartment after her family has been murdered by corrupt policemen. She doesn't care that her parents died, because they were abusive anyway, but she's angry that her four-year-old brother was killed. She wants revenge.

Mathilda wants Leon to kill the police officers (DEA agents) who killed her brother. He refuses because the job is too heavy. She says she'll do it herself and asks him to train her. Again he refuses, but she says she'll do it anyway, so he reluctantly agrees to teach her everything he knows. For the next few months she accompanies him on his jobs. (This is missing from the American version of the film).

Mathilda is impatient and goes out to take revenge by herself. Leon is forced to follow her and protect her.

I mentioned above that there's an American version. There are two versions of "Leon": the international version (132 minutes) and the American version (110 minutes). Sometimes the shorter version is called the theatrical version and the longer version is called the director's cut. That's incorrect. The longer version is the original theatrical version that was shown in cinemas worldwide. The shorter version is a version only shown in American cinemas. The main omissions from the American version are the scenes where Mathilda declares her love for Leon and attempts to seduce him. Americans don't like things like that. Mathilda's training missions are also cut, for reasons unknown to me.

The international version is superior to the American version. There's a poignancy in Mathilda's feelings for an older man that the American version loses. If you've only ever seen the American version, please watch the international version.

I included "Leon" in my list of 30 films to watch before you die, and it's currently in 93rd place in my top 100 films list.

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