Simply Perfect

Good concept, poorly executed.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

This is the kind of film about which one yearns to have a conversation. I viewed it myself, on Turner Classic Movies, so this review is my effort to make some sense of a superlative but puzzling viewing experience. Gu, whose chiseled mug seems made for this role, is a protagonist unlike any other. We sympathize with him from the start, as his lack of athleticism threatens his life of crime in the earliest frames of this dusky film. What is he doing, leaping across tall buildings -- anyway? Director Melville never quite spells it -- or anything else in this film -- out. But we care for Gu from the start. Yet he is a cold-blooded killer of guys both good and bad. With sniper-like sangfroid, he thinks nothing of taking out a motorcycle cop accompanying an armored car. As the doomed Inspector Fardiano sneers, is he planning on adopting two slain cops' five kids? Somehow Melville makes us care about this villain, whose only smile he reserves for his glamorous and enigmatic sister Manouche (Christine Fabrega). "You deserved better," he tells her toward the end of the movie. Earlier, they embrace passionately. What gives here?? Again, hints are the most we receive from Melville. Ventura's performance is first-rate. Our eyes never stray from his presence, whether he is commandeering a pair of hapless petty thieves who have come to threaten Manouche or allowing himself, fatefully, the luxury of chewing on a candy at a game of petanque near the Mediterranean coast. Equally compelling is Commissioner Blot, played with unceasing panache by Paul Meurisse, who, only the year before, appeared in "Diabolique."Blot's character, like all the others in this film, is somewhat puzzling. He seems confident about outsmarting the bad guys -- "not everyone can have an inquiring mind." Yet, as Manouche predicts, he and his men in blue are easily duped. Witness the incredible scene when Gu, seemingly comatose from torture as he lies in a hospital bed, gives his badged overseer the slip. Yes, Manouche knew of what she spoke. Once the evil and reputation-obsessed Gu receives his comeuppance, Blot deprives Manouche of a bit of succor. Apparently he realized she wasn't as clean as she came across. Yet he drops the loathsome notebook on the ground for the benefit of the press corps. One shudders at the implications of that move. Won't it serve to stir the pot, keeping the bad guys and the cops at each others' throats? Well, without that I guess we wouldn't have noirs and policiers. The never-ending cat and mouse game carries on. And what of the platinum? Gu hid his share well. Perhaps, in a way, he provided for Manouche and her stolid bodyguard Alban (Michael Constantin) after all.I have seen one other noir by Melville ("Le Doulus"), which was interesting but made far less sense than this production. Melville is a director I'd definitely like to follow -- ideally in the company of other film buffs who savor examination and discussion!CODA: If this film seems to really "get" the bad guys, maybe that's because the author of the novel that inspired it was a truly evil man. Read the Wikipedia entry for Jose Giovanni and weep -- or perhaps feel guilty for liking this film so much.

Three prisoners break from the prison and the notorious Gustave 'Gu' Minda (Lino Ventura) is the only one that survives. He heads to Paris where he meets his lover Manouche (Christine Fabrega) and his friend and Manouche's bodyguard Alban (Michel Constantin) that take him to a hideout. Meanwhile the smart Commissary Blot (Paul Meurisse) is investigating a shooting plotted by the mobster Jo Ricci (Marcel Bozzufi) and the gangster Jacques the Lawyer (Raymond Loyer) that is murdered. Gu decides to travel to Italy but he is short of money; his friend Orloff (Pierre Zimmer) invites him to participate in the heist of an armored truck with his friend Paul Ricci (Raymond Pellegrin) and the gangsters Antoine (Denis Manuel) and Pascal (Pierre Grasset) in Marseille. The talkative Inspector Fardiano (Paul Frankeur) is responsible for the investigation, but the persistent Commissary Blot believes that Gu is behind the scheme. "Le Deuxième Soufflé" is a realistic police story by Jean-Pierre Melville with great performances. It is impressive how I did not feel the 150 minutes running time, since the screenplay is very well written. The code of honor of Gu contrasts with the lack of ethics of the police detectives. The duel between Gu and Blot is another attraction of this great movie. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "Os Profissionais do Crime" ("The Professionals of the Crime")

Jean-Pierre Melville and his long standing infatuation with Hollywood "Film Noir",which he was the most devoted follower of, in entire history of French cinema, produced the whole line of best French crime pictures ever. In this one, he's in absolute top form on this neatly constructed, no nonsense caper film. Building a story of old school criminals with sense of criminal honesty and honor, around 800 million heist, Melville, tells many stories, from human relations, betrayals and greed, to love and friendship that will go all the way.The dialogs are great. Witty police inspector Comissaire Blot, beautifully portrayed by Paul Meurisse and Lino Ventura's Gustave "Gu" Minda,play the game of cat and mouse with no unnecessary talk, and no unnecessary action. Melville devoted a lot of attention to detail, and this film deservedly looks like a crime-action documentary, with no plot holes or "how the hell this or that could have happened" types of questions for the viewer, which is very important for mature audiences that appreciate classic films. I think that this may be the best film Melville made in the 60's, even better than "Army of Shadows" or the "Samourai",and was the last he made in his own studio that burned up during the production of "Samourai" in 1967, which may explain the possibilities he had, to devote time and attention to details. If you appreciate a good crime picture, be sure not to miss it.

"Le Deuxième Soufflé" is an excellent crime film--mostly because it emphasizes realism as opposed to sensationalism. Now this isn't to say the film isn't exciting, but it certainly is one that has a much slower pace than usual and excessive attention is paid to the details--so much that you'd swear this is almost a crime documentary instead of fiction.The film begins with a daring breakout from prison. Gustave 'Gu' Minda is lucky and makes it over the wall safely. It turns out he was #1 on France's most wanted list ten years earlier and so naturally it makes quite a sensation when he escapes. The first half of the movie have a lot to do with his escape and his life in hiding. However, despite hiding, he does have a few adventures along the way that I won't elaborate on because it would spoil the suspense.A bit later, while waiting for a way out of the country, Gu is a bit bored and jumps at a chance to pull one last job--a very, very BIG job where 800,000,000 francs worth of platinum is on the line. Once the job has been completed, though, the film is far from over and the police naturally are combing the country for Gu and the money--though they really don't know if he had anything to do with it or who his accomplices are.Now there is one minor detail about the film I didn't like. While Gu has changed his appearance and relocated from Paris to Marseilles, he sure seemed pretty out of character late in the film. Despite being such a brilliant and careful prisoner, he takes walks about the city! Why? Well, I have no idea and it's not surprising that he's finally caught. However, once again, there is much more to this 150 minute film--a lot of twists and turns that occur because Gu, though generally amoral, will do anything to convince his fellow criminals that he has a strong sense of honor and integrity. I liked this because it did give him some depth and the finale was indeed exciting.The film is very much like a French version of Film Noir. In general, the French did their Noir a bit later than Hollywood and this continued through the 1960s--after Hollywood had gone on to other things. Making this film in black and white was a great choice, as it heightened the Noir look and it as well as "Bob le Flambeur" and "Le Samourai" are among the best in this French genre. Not to be missed.