Gathering up titles starring or directed by Robert Hossein,I spotted a Film Noir from a very kind IMDb that I had somehow over looked during the gathering,which led to me getting ready to witness a killer death.
The plot:
Returning home after spending 5 years in jail for taking part in a gang robbery, Pierre Massa discovers that whilst his wife has stayed waiting,the love of his life-who is also his sister shortly left town after he went behind bars.Meeting up with his former gang members,Massa reveals that he thinks their capture was part of an inside job,with the number one suspect being former gang member Luciano,who has run off with Massa's sister.As Massa and Luciano cross paths,one of them soon has to see the death of a killer.
View on the film:
Stepping down on all the dirt and the gum on the pavement,co- writer/(along with Claude Desailly/Louis Martin/André & Georges Tabet) lead actor/director Robert Hossein and cinematographer Jean Boffety inject the title with a documentary urgency,which releases stylish overhead tracking shots over the vast outdoor location,that along with craving an "on the spot reporting" Film Noir atmosphere,also allows Hossein to pick up the lowlifes and decay surrounding the outskirts of the city.Joined by a smooth as silk score from his dad André, Hossein and Boffety remarkably find beauty within the dirt,from Hossein's voice-over over the flashbacks hitting a melancholy note, to the gangsters looking ultra-slick and cool in shades and charcoal Film Noir jackets.
Jumping back and forth from the robbery to the aftermath 5 years later,the writers brilliantly keep the flashbacks clipped in silence,as Massa's narration springs across the screen and unwraps his Film Noir angry with the peculiar love for his sister.Keeping Massa and Luciano at street level,the writers send the rivals into an operatic stand off,as all their fellow gang members circle round a tense final shootout.Joined by an oily Simón Andreu as Luciano and an alluring Marie-France Pisier as the women caught between them,Hossein gives a superb performance as Massa,thanks to Hossein striking a great balance between rose-tinted glasses of the past,and a hard-edge acceptance of the Film Noir present,as the death of a killer takes place.
The plot:
Returning home after spending 5 years in jail for taking part in a gang robbery, Pierre Massa discovers that whilst his wife has stayed waiting,the love of his life-who is also his sister shortly left town after he went behind bars.Meeting up with his former gang members,Massa reveals that he thinks their capture was part of an inside job,with the number one suspect being former gang member Luciano,who has run off with Massa's sister.As Massa and Luciano cross paths,one of them soon has to see the death of a killer.
View on the film:
Stepping down on all the dirt and the gum on the pavement,co- writer/(along with Claude Desailly/Louis Martin/André & Georges Tabet) lead actor/director Robert Hossein and cinematographer Jean Boffety inject the title with a documentary urgency,which releases stylish overhead tracking shots over the vast outdoor location,that along with craving an "on the spot reporting" Film Noir atmosphere,also allows Hossein to pick up the lowlifes and decay surrounding the outskirts of the city.Joined by a smooth as silk score from his dad André, Hossein and Boffety remarkably find beauty within the dirt,from Hossein's voice-over over the flashbacks hitting a melancholy note, to the gangsters looking ultra-slick and cool in shades and charcoal Film Noir jackets.
Jumping back and forth from the robbery to the aftermath 5 years later,the writers brilliantly keep the flashbacks clipped in silence,as Massa's narration springs across the screen and unwraps his Film Noir angry with the peculiar love for his sister.Keeping Massa and Luciano at street level,the writers send the rivals into an operatic stand off,as all their fellow gang members circle round a tense final shootout.Joined by an oily Simón Andreu as Luciano and an alluring Marie-France Pisier as the women caught between them,Hossein gives a superb performance as Massa,thanks to Hossein striking a great balance between rose-tinted glasses of the past,and a hard-edge acceptance of the Film Noir present,as the death of a killer takes place.