“You need the whole army to take one man in.”
Melding crime drama and progressive
politics, Giovanni’s adaption of his own novel also fuses the visceral thrills
of Italian poliziotteschi with the icy
countenance of Gallic films policiers.
Adapted from the director’s 1959 novel Histoires
de Fou, the resulting script’s rebellious attitude so appealed to Delon that
he secured finance and produced the film. Of the titular character’s disaffection,
he said, “Since childhood my character learned that society only gave … rubbish
tips to people of his race.”[i]
Giovanni (pseudonym for Joseph Damiani) fought in the Resistance but also
collaborated, so it was perhaps curious to see the script injected with such
humanism. He would spend time on death row before receiving clemency; his time
in jail was spent writing, and his dark crime novels generated a number of
classic French crime films: Le Trou, Classe Tous Risques, Le Deuxième Souffle.
A sweeping bird’s-eye shot displays the disparities
between the film’s anti-hero and the society he’s at odds with. From petit bourgeois holidaymakers on a
Mediterranean resort, the camera rests on the wasteland of a gypsy encampment. However,
the whimsical flavour conjured by Django Reinhardt’s lilting guitar strings is swiftly
undercut; the inhabitants of this settlement are being forcibly removed and the
authorities are looking for infamous criminal Hugo Sennart.
The role of Romany anti-hero was
tailor-made for Delon. Despite not having the swarthy complexion of the many
extras that inhabit the scenes in the gypsy settlement, his image is highly
stylised, with thick mop and moustache. Motivation for a life of violent crime
seems to be rooted in rancour towards societal conformity. In fact, when policeman
Blot briefs members of his department about Sennart, he tells them that he
“accepts only the law of the tribe”.
Elsewhere, Sennart is portrayed as a Robin
Hood figure; he tells a vet who tends to his gunshot wounds, “I haven’t robbed
anyone but the State.” The fraternal bond between Sennart and his people is
well illustrated in their affection and respect. Between times, however, the eminently
photogenic Delon stares forlornly at migrating flamingos, a symbol of the
freedom he craves but which life in the underworld prevents him from attaining.
Giovanni manipulates a diverse cast of
French and Italian players all flavoured with quirks. Sennart’s sidekick Amila
(played by stocky Italian Renato Salvatori) is learning English, and listens to
his study tapes to kill time before jobs, while the more abrasive Helman
(newcomer Maurice Barrier) is obsessed with female breasts. Kuq, on the other
hand, finds solace in conversation with Ninie, the fiery hotelier/restaurateur
whose premises, unbeknownst to Kuq, are adjacent to the villa occupied by Sennart.
Though the script leans towards character
analysis, action is filmed with some panache. The initial robbery of a
government truck begins with a shot of police officers arriving on motorcycles,
reflected in Sennart’s mirrored sunglasses. Stunts are choreographed by Rémy
Julienne, the great architect of Eurocrime’s knife-edged car chases. In a final
race between the authorities and Sennart’s henchmen, their vehicle flips on its
side amid exchanges of machine-gun fire. When alerted that the police have identified
his hideout, the daring of Sennart’s escape by motorcycle is particularly
intoxicating.
Discovering that Kuq was interrogated in
Palavas and covered for him, Sennart concedes that he owes the older man a
debt. Their meeting in Paris further conveys the gulf between vagabond and the well-heeled.
As Kuq, Meurisse effortlessly conveys a sense of elegance alien to Sennart and
his race.
Mixing liberal concern with depictions of violent
crime does not always work, and often appears contradictory. However, the final
scene shows where the sentiments of star and director lie; Sennart’s people are
being evicted from another wasteland, the fears of an outcast people voiced
through the tears of a child.
No comments:
Post a Comment