Runtime: 101 minutes
Directed by: Jean-Pierre Melville
Starring: Alain Delon, Francois Perier, Nathalie Delon, Cathy Rosier, Jacques Leroy
From: Several different French and Italian companies
As sometimes happens, a messageboard conversation inspired the viewing of a movie. In this case, earlier in the month someone mentioned how Woo's The Killer was obviously influenced by Le Samourai; that piqued my interest so when this played on TCM late one night earlier in the week... I did not watch it then. However, it was on their website and as my cable provider allows for streaming of movies on their site, last night was when this was seen; apparently this is the favorite movie of another popular Pacific Rim Asian director, Johnnie To.
Alain Delon was a great choice as the generically named Jef Costello. He lives by his own code of ethics obviously inspired by the samurai of old. The chief example is that he lives in a rather spartan apartment that has little more than a bed and a bird in a cage. He is a hitman who does a hit in a nightclub; his schemes involve creating alibis that allow him to evade being charged for all his crimes. Always dapperly dressed, he is usually impossibly cool and is great at his job. However, this time the police are onto him and he has to really use his brain to avoid capture while always doing things his way.
The story is not the most complex; it is simply the ramifications of a hit the police suspect he committed. The main draw is the movie's style, which this has in spades. Costello drives a stolen Citroen DS-still a vehicle that is revolutionary and looks like nothing else, let alone what it must have seemed like when it first debuted in 1955-visits jazz clubs and a breaking & entering, all while emotionless and in a film with minimal dialogue and maximum interest as it envelops you in this slick world. There are chases and other events I dare not spoil in this influential movie which manages to blend several different genres... samurai movies, French New Wave and the American gangster pictures of old.
This does inspire me to watch more Melville; both this and Le Cercle Rouge are quality motion pictures so I should dig the rest of his filmography.
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