AllMovie

The nameless characters in this story about a lonely, middle-aged man (Jan Decleir) suddenly unemployed and living off social security suggest that they are symbolic of a broader-based society. When the man's unwanted isolation is played against the many laid-off workers receiving checks at the unemployment office, the pathos is universal. By contrast, when the man and his mistress (Eva Kant) are specifically portrayed in their rather tacky bedroom, or when the man starts to develop a friendship with a young school girl, the symbolism disappears and a more banal, slow-paced story line takes its place through to the end - leaving a certain ambiguity as to how to read the primary characters.