I once saw a French film, set ...
Question: I once saw a French film, set in Paris I believe, about an aging man who's down on his luck and struggling to outwit his greedy landlady, who wants to evict him and his dog. He struggles both to retain his home and keep his dog, spends some time in a veterans' hospital, and is befriended by a young girl. But his pride and desire to maintain the appearance of respectability and solvency get in the way of his efforts. I think at the end either the man or dog dies, and the last scene takes place in a park. Any ideas?
Answer: Vittorio De Sica's neorealist classic Umberto D. (1952), starring Carlo Battisti as an elderly, retired civil servant, alone in the world except for his dog, Flick. He never made much money, but while he was working during the day, his landlady would make up the difference by renting out his room to lovers with nowhere to go; now that he's retired and his dwindling pension doesn’t cover expenses, she throws him out. It's Italian rather than French, and though neither Umberto nor Flick dies, Umberto attempts suicide, Flick is nearly put down at the pound and their future looks pretty dicey at the film's conclusion. It's a heartbreaker.
