466. Le Samourai

Le Samourai
The Godson
1967
Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville

I apologize for taking so long with this post.  I had trouble finding this one and took to just googling it everyday.  I eventually found a link that worked, though it might be gone already.  I would advise my fellow List followers to track down this film as soon as they can.

Fair warning: the plot summary makes the movie sound a lot more interesting than it actually is.  In fact, the things I didn't like about this film (the pacing, the woodenness of the lead) are exactly the things that are most praised.  I know everybody has different tastes, but surely watching an expressionless face for an hour and a half would get on anybody's nerves?  No?

Jef Costello is a hit man who... does some things. Huh.  This is a hard plot to describe without giving away spoilers.  As I mentioned, this character never seems to be fazed by anything and is stone-faced throughout the entire film (much like I was when I was watching it).  I get that this was his character, but it did get a bit dull after awhile.

There are quite a few good action scenes in this film but I was still bored throughout most of it.  Still worth a watch, though; I think I am just getting harder and harder to please.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

No dialogue for the first ten minutes of the film.

The caged bird that Jef owns later died in a fire.  But that was my favorite character!

293. Bob Le Flambeur

Bob Le Flambeur
Bob The Gambler
1955
Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville

I would consider myself a film buff but I know very little about the French New Wave.  This movie apparently set the tone for the entire New Wave so I was excited to watch it and start learning about the movement.  And, yes, I do realize that I sound like a huge nerd.

This movie is about Bob, who after a streak of bad luck, decides to rob someone.  Oh and, of course, there is a dame.

So, for starters, we have a likable criminal.  While we have seen this before (Pepe Le Moko, anyone?), it is still a rather original concept for the time that has now been turned into a cliche.

Other than that, there were not a whole lot of things about this film that I liked.  Although the plot sounds like it would be super exciting, the movie is surprisingly dull.  The action does pick up towards the middle but by then, I had already lost interest.

I would still recommend checking it out but this isn't exactly the best of the crime  genre.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Said to be the height of French films inspired by American film noir.

Stanley Kubrick said that he never wanted to do a crime film because Melville had already done the best with this picture.