So I watched another Melville noir movie. Le deuxième souffle (1966). I've watched two other film of his, one from 1959 and one from the seventies.
This thing was almost 3 hours long and the most profound thing the film taught me is that you get a very sore ass out of watching boring, pretentious criminals talk about their petty business for that long. And the film, I suppose, was supposed to be funny (at least one guy's guffaws were particularly audible, thank you).
Some scenes were technically entertaining. A few scenes worked really well in creating a real sense of tension. What it did have was also a nice soundtrack, I must say.
Now: a small rant.
I am so sick and tired of movies/books about existential gangsters. That also goes for existential films about gangsters, like this film was, I suppose, intended to be. I don't, ever, ever, FUCKING EVER, want to see yet another movie or read another book about a gangster with "standards", with a sense of "honor", which imbues him with dignity despite how corrupt these "standards" are. In this movie: "don't rat, don't betray".
And don't show me another ending in which honorable-yet-ruthless gangsta meets his maker in tragic, futile Death which is supposed to epitomize the Human Condition. When rid of all that honor, the film shows the hero reduced to a pitiful lump of a creature.
That little existentialist, faux-fatalist lesson is truly sympathetic, ain't it? Life is absurd, isn't it?
It sure must and will be, if you're a MAN OF HONOR.
Here, there is a constant shift between two perspectives: either you are a hero of a majestic tragedy OR you are a crushed ant. Both show life and human beings to be quite despicable affairs.
I must confess I prefer completely brainless heist movies to this movie's shallow aestethization. (But don't even get me started about how much I loathe "the gentleman robber" - I don't care about your FUCKING DIAMONDS, awwright?)
A humble plea to Elokuva-arkisto: Don't waste my time with more masculinist bullshit PLEASE.
(It's not that you can't make interesting art out of this subject - I once saw an excellent documentary about a Yakuza organization. The documentary drew parallels between yakuza codes and business-talk.)
Of course, Mr whatever is praised as a "dedicated auteur".
I'll try to write a more substantial post about this when less tired and less pissed off.
4 comments:
If I remember correctly Dolph Lundgren was in a film called Men of Honor. They fired off bazookas from rubber boats, that's pretty cool comparing to the film you just saw.
U.
I ADORE Dolph Lundgren! And that's true.
Firing off bazookas is all right, pretty god damn okay actually - compared to the existentialist crap I saw yesterday. (Of course, I had that film in mind when writing the title of the post. I have quite blurry memories of the film. It gets mixed up with another D. Lundgren gem: RED SCORPION.
...no, the movie was called MEN OF WAR. Summary:
"Nick Gunar (Dolph Lundgren) is a burnt-out, jaded and hard-up former mercenary who is having a difficult time adjusting to civilian life. At the end of his rope, he is hired by the Nitro Mine Corporation to strong-arm the natives of a South China Sea island into giving up their rights to its valuable mineral resources. Nick loathes the thought of another mission, but this seemingly easy job will earn him enough money to get back with his estranged family. He recruits some of his former mercenary buddies to help him with the job. The island people refuse to give up their land and Nick decides to help them fight the greedy corporation that hired him. The island and its people bring Nick back to life. He finally finds something worth fighting for and a place to call home. As greed and treachery begin to unravel, Nick's band of mercenaries choose sides. Some are with him and others, still working for the corporation, will stop at nothing to destroy him."
Ah damn, it could have been called Men of Honor (war pretty much equals honour, doesn't it).
U.
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