Alain Delon plays the role of a french antique dealer in Paris, who's fate during the german occupation in 1942 is sealed because he has the same name as a jewish member of the resitance. Joseph Losey made a film with many similarities to Kafka about the loss of identity, fellow travellers and the role of the individual in the political crimes.

1942, during the occupation of Paris, the catholic antique dealer Robert Klein earns a lot of money because rich jewish people have to sell the things they own, to be able to leve the country. One day he gets a jewish information paper and after a short research he gets to know that there is a jew with his name who uses the similarity for the work in the resistance. Set on alarm he tries to find out everything about this man. Because of that he draws the attention of the french authorities, that work close together with the germans, on himself. Unsure about his own identity the research about the other man becomes an obsession. Monsieur Klein decides to accept his fate and is brought to a concentration camp together with 15.000 jews from Paris.

1977 the film got two prices, one for the best film and one for the best direction. The film shows the role of the unpolitical individual in a cruel state. Under the direction of Joseph Losey, Alain Delon plays the role of the perpetrator who becomes a victim.