Two Men in Town (1973) User Reviews

Classy crime flick dealing with the injustices of French law

[Prof-Hieronymos-Grost · 8/10 · 7 September 2008]

Germaine Cazeneuve (Jean Gabin) is an educator of delinquents and state prisoners, his job is to help them reform and adjust to a new life outside of prison. He pleads for leniency in the case of safe cracker Gino Strabliggi (Alain Delon) who is up for parole after 10 years inside, against their better judgement the parole board agrees to Cazeneuve's request on condition that he takes responsibility for Strabliggi. Gino, as an ex con, is forced by French law to take residence anywhere but in a city and so he settles with his young wife in the country, where fate turns against him, as first his wife is killed, then he is hounded by his former crime gang to return to his former lifestyle and also one of the arresting officers from his case years previously, the now chief inspector Goitreau is in charge of the area and has a grudge against him and becomes even more suspicious when he finds out Gino's new girlfriend Lucie is working in the local bank With the help of his now good friend Cazeuenve and his new girlfriend Lucie (Mimsy Farmer) he tries to battle his demons and fight against the troublesome cop.

Jose Giovanni (born Joseph Damiani) is perhaps best known as a writer of some renown in France, in films like Melvilles Le Deuxième soufflé, and Classe tous risques (1960) his writings usually centering on crime, an area he knew only too well, as he was on death row in France from 1948-1956 before gaining a Presidential pardon. While inside he penned the script for Le Trou, French slang for prison literally meaning "The Hole", a script that would gain him one of his first steps into the film industry, when it was filmed by Jacques Becker, who turned out one of the best prison films ever made. Deux hommes dans la ville is a film that was obviously close to his heart as it doesn't reveal its true motives until the end, where we are treated to an emotional climax on death row, with the usual last minute wait on a pardon. The film itself is an excellent character study, made all the better by two fine performances by the Gabin and Delon. Gabin giving us a truly world weary performance, his voice-over at times heartbreaking, as he comes to terms with the injustices he encounters on a daily basis. Delon portrays the truly reformed character Gino, struggling against the injustice of a criminal and legal system that still lives in the dark ages with a deliciously watchable class. The film struggles at times, especially early on to keep cohesion, Giovanni seemingly trying to fit to many characters and too much plot into a short time span, its almost like this film should have had a running time of 4 hours and he struggled to leave out areas that were obviously dear to his heart. Still though it's a classy film, beautifully filmed and with a truly epic and emotive score by Philippe Sarde. Giallo queen Farmer is also pretty good and there a very charismatic cameo from Gerard Depardieu as a cocky young criminal, who's not that impressed by Gino's past glories.

bleak, slow but definitely worth watching

[raghavan-69 · 7/10 · 8 December 2005]

I love Alain Delon and Jean Gabin and french cinema. So I was high on expectations when i began this film. It's good. It's a simple story, that moves organically and is well photographed and acted....it is not a typical film....and hence needs a bit of time to get into the mood of the film. But it's a stirring story and gradually you understand and get emotionally involved in the characters. And you feel Oh my God....this is dangerous, tragic. I hate comments that reveal the complete story....no...but i loved the character of the vindictive cop. A guy i hated... The end of the film reminded me of Kieslowski's A short film about killing. For those seeking entertainment, watch the Alain Delon thrillers featured in the DVD extras. This is a serious film but it's eminently watchable and has a powerful underplayed drama.

The actors are a treat to watch. I love Jean Gabin, though i must confess, i've only seen him play the old man.

He'd have been as stupendous when young. His face is a landscape of stories.

The ideal double bill would be this film, followed by Henri Vernuil's Any number can win...with the same principle cast.

Since i'm from India, I must add here that we have our own Alain Delon here....Saif Ali Khan. A handsome intense actor who is right now very happening.

Not a date movie for sure but a good film nevertheless.

A Giovanni's flag against the evil death penalty by Guillotine on France!!!

[elo-equipamentos · 8/10 · 11 May 2020]

Based in own life experience on dead row of the director José Giovanni takes to screen for Alain Delon as co-producer, the role of friendly Germaine Cazeneuve will be to Lino Ventura who turned down, then asking for Yves Montand who indirectly said no, they had re-written the screenplay to fit an old men like Jean Gabin who play Germaine a social worker that tries socialize some prisoners using his own sharpened instinct gathered for a long time, he struggles for a parole to Gino Strabliggi (Alain Delon) two years before the judgment given of twelve years, after on street already working he lost your girlfriend on car's accident, moved to Montpelier he starts again always escorted by Germaine, when faces Inspector Goitreau (Michel Bouquet) a man who arrested him for first time, for now on the rigid Inspector will turn his life in a hell, letting Gino to nervous breakdown and killing him with own hands, in jail later after an exhaustive trial was sentenced for a death penalty at Guillotine, state by many as Les Miserable alike but it wasn't to me at all, it was Giavanni statement against death penalty on France, which will be swept on 1981, strangely Alain Delon making this picture was totally agreed with death penalty!!

Resume:

First watch: 2020 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 8

Giovanni's most important movie.

[dbdumonteil · 15 September 2005]

Although "le Rapace" , "Dernier domicile Connu" and even " la Loi du Survivant" are certainly superior to "deux Hommes dans la Ville" ,the latter is Giovanni's definitive statement against death penalty.He and André Cayatte were the two French directors who really fought during their careers and their films certainly contributed to its abolishment in 1981.Giovanni would come back to his favourite subject with "comme un Boomerang" and" une Robe Noire pour un Tueur",but those were much weaker efforts.And his final work "Mon père" is not devoid of leniency.

"Deux Hommes dans la Ville "is A WINNER.First thing to bear in mind is that ,at its time of release,French critics were chilly ,they sneered when they saw Michel Bouquet 's cop character.They had probably forgotten "Les misérables" ,Javert and Jean Valjean.Giovanni's cop is not implausible and Bouquet's sly face is ideal.

By and large,the cast is dazzling:we find an actor from the heyday of the French cinema ,Gabin,(Delon's fate recalls some parts of young Gabin "le jour se lève" and "Quai des Brumes"),then from the second generation (Delon) and even the third one is represented with Gerard Depardieu and Bernard Giraudeau -whose part is certainly the weakest of the script:the post-68 student ,we have seen this character too many times- Supporting cast also includes Victor Lanoux and Malka Ribowska ,as a convincing lawyer who is Giovanni's spokesman(woman!)when she expresses her horror of this "razor" (guillotine)which reduces France to the level of the under developed countries.

Gino (Delon) paid for what he'd done.He deserved a chance to pick up the pieces.His awakening,on THE fatal morning,is absolutely terrifying.

TWO MEN IN TOWN (Jose' Giovanni, 1973) **1/2

[Bunuel1976 · 6/10 · 5 August 2007]

Curiously enough, the central plot of this one is quite similar to that of ONCE A THIEF (1965; also starring Alain Delon and which I watched on the very same day) – though here it's even gloomier (ultimately taking the form of a plea against capital punishment)! Incidentally, co-writer/director Giovanni had been a convict in real-life, and even wrote the novel which inspired Jacques Becker's marvelous prison-escape drama LE TROU (1960).

Anyway, Delon and Jean Gabin are well-teamed here (this was the last of three films in which they appeared together, following ANY NUMBER CAN WIN [1963] and THE SICILIAN CLAN [1969]): the latter isn't particularly exerted by his role – being, after all, among his last – but the former is unusually committed and, in fact, he also served as the film's producer! Mimsy Farmer appears as Delon's new lover following the tragic death of his wife in a road accident; Michel Bouquet is memorable as the Javert-like police inspector who won't let Delon go (a slinky but nastier version of the Van Heflin part in ONCE A THIEF); Gerard Depardieu has a brief role at the beginning as a wannabe criminal associate of Delon's.

hard to express

[didiermustntdie · 10/10 · 15 October 2003]

Formidable film built on an original scenario, Two men in the city is a load against the death penalty and a dark report on the incapacity of the Republic to grant one second chance to that which made an error. But it is also, quite simply, the tragic history of a man. Four years after their Clan of the siciliens, José Giovanni again joins together the couple, Gabin/Delon in a film . It calls also upon one of known leading man , with dishevelling Michel Bouquet in relentless police , Bernard Giraudeau who plays the son of the teacher Cazeneuve, the presenter Christine Fabréga, his wife, Cecile Vassort ,his daughter.Victor Lanoux , Gerard Depardieu and Gabrille Briand three mafias, One could say, in a certain manner, which we all are of Gino Strabliggi..... that's a simple existence transfers with the drama. What is striking, it is to see the life gradually escaping the character literally from film. A combination of circumstances: a mourning which pushes to start again elsewhere, the chance which puts to you in the presence of harmful characters, voluntarily or involuntarily, the feeling of injustice in justice.

The interpretation of Alain Delon one of his best in his career. One will never say enough the importance of the glances in this film. Delon deploys a varied and sensitive "pallet" . Jean Gabin, to his practice, brings a considerable appreciation to the interest of film. Narrator and the pilot main thing of the drama, it systematically replaces the pseudo truths in their true contradiction with the owner of the printing works which employs Gino Strabliggi, humanity in a terribly mechanical and cold landscape.

It is necessary to have seen the two almost dumb scenes in which the two actors exchange glances, that of the visiting room and that of the execution. Into the latter, Gino Strabliggi slips to Germain Cazeneuve "- I am afraid" like that of a son to his father.

last word ,the original music of Philippe Sarde, perfectly adapted to film; light and sad old story... like the destiny.

Corny Propaganda against Death Penalty

[claudio_carvalho · 6/10 · 5 July 2018]

"Deux hommes dans la ville", a.k.a. "Two Men in Town", is a corny propaganda against death penalty in France based on an updated version of Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. Produced by Alain Delon and with the great Jean Gabin and Alain Delon in the lead roles, the film wants to show injustices in the French justice system, but it is absolutely manipulative. Alain Delon performs the likable Gino Strabliggi, a modern version of Jean Valjean, and Michel Bouquet performs the nasty Chief Inspector Goitreau, a modern version of Inspector Javert. The result is a good film with questionable intentions. The beauty of Mimsy Farmer is another attraction of this film. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Dois Homens Contra uma Cidade" ("Two Men against a City")

A lot like a reworking of " Les Misérables" set in modern France.

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 1 March 2011]

This is an interesting film in structure, as the main conflict doesn't even present itself until almost 40 minutes into the film. Up until then, it's a very nice story about an ex-con (Alain Delon) and his good friend--a social worker who befriended him in prison and has worked to help rehabilitate him (Jean Gabin). However, even though Delon is doing a great job on his parole (even after tragedy strikes)and is living an honest life, an old cop who arrested him a decade earlier has decided that it's his mission to PROVE that Delon didn't change and is just another con waiting to show his true colors! And so, doggedly, the cop seems determined to push Delon until he forces his to turn bad.

While the parallels are not perfect and the setting has been updated to modern France, this sure seemed like a reworking of the classic Victor Hugo story "Les Misérables". Like the leading man from the novel, Jean Valjean, Delon's character has changed after leaving prison and is committed to doing right. And, like Javert, the cop who suddenly enters his life will stop at nothing to prove that a man like Delon CAN'T change despite all appearances to the contrary. So, the cop harasses the man's employer, his girlfriend...any one and everyone. He brings Delon in for interrogations and pushes the man unmercifully--so much so that you assume sooner or later Delon will snap. What happens next is a bit of a shock--and makes for an exciting finale and a very compelling film.

It's interesting, by the way, that the bad cop is not the only thing in the system that conspires to keep criminals criminals. Other than Gabin, the rest of the prison officials in the film seem like reactionaries--who unintentionally perpetuate the problems through their stupidity. While this is somewhat of an over-simplification, I like this angle, as prison officials often do make the problems worse (I used to work with the prison system like Gabin's character and was amazed at how corrupt or dumb some of these men were--including come guards who were simply sadists). It's a novel approach (aside from the Hugo novel) and made the film quite compelling. Plus, it humanized Delon so much that you hurt for him and really were rooting for him throughout the film.

The Beleaguered

[ricardojorgeramalho · 7/10 · 21 January 2023]

Directed and written by Corsican José Giovanni, produced by Alain Delon, who stars in the film in partnership with veteran Jean Gabin, this is certainly a different film from the French-Italian cop movies of the 60s and 70s, many of them with the same protagonists.

Here we have a regenerated ex-convict struggling to integrate into society and a police and judicial system that cannot forgive and reintegrate those who have already paid for their mistakes and truly want to turn a page in their lives.

A film that exposes the weaknesses of the French penal and judicial system while condemning the maintenance of the death penalty in modern France in 1973.

A great French thriller from Jose Giovanni

[JasparLamarCrabb · 8/10 · 28 March 2014]

An exceptionally well acted film from writer/director Jose Giovanni. Alain Delon is recently paroled from prison with the help of social worker Jean Gabin. Moving to the south of France, Delon is pursued by his former gang mates as well as vengeful cop Michel Bouquet. Bouquet is so bent on forcing Delon to go bad, he hounds him into violence. Giovanni's riveting film features some great acting from Delon and Gabin and a very strong supporting cast, including Victor Lanoux, Mimsy Farmer and, briefly, a very young Gerard Depardieu. The stunning cinematography is by Jean-Jaques Tarbes and the music is by Phillipe Sarde. One of the best, and most unique, French crime thrillers of the 1970s...uncompromising 'til the very end.

Classic and thrilling French drama with the two greatest stars : Jean Gavin and Alain Delon

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 21 January 2023]

Exceptionally realistic and brooding film in which Jean Gabin as an honorable social worker is awesome , as well as Delon playing a paroled delinquent . It is an above average flick with thoughtful events and top-drawer perforances. So Alain Delon as a cold and two-fisted ex-delinquent is top notch and Jean Gavin as a serious and clever social worker is magnificent . It deals with Gino (Alain Delon) , a previous bank robber who's released after 10 years in prison thanks to advises from a social worker called Germain Cazeneuve (Jean Gabin) . Gino's determined to go straight, gets a steady job and returns with his wife Sophie Strabliggi (Ilaria Occhini). Unaware that it is only a matter of time before he's forced to confront destiny. As soon as a stubborn , rude police inspector Goitreau (Michel Bouquet) from his past to be aware his freedom , he goes after him . Meantime, his old partners-in-crime (Victor Lanoux, Gerard Depardieu..) also begging him to pick up where they left off long time ago . Along the way , Gino is relentlessly pursued and harassed by the obstinate inspector and eventually Gino seeks vengeance .

Classic French Polar film with two greatest stars of the seventies dealing with an account of the influence and support of a social worker on a paroled ex-inmate . This is a suspense ¨Polar¨ or French Noir film in which tesion , drama , intrigue and thriller are continuous . From the beginning to the end it turns out to be interestibg , dramatic and suspenseful , including well developing of interesting characters , and that's why it is entertaining . The movie has great loads of emotion , dark-edged drama , tension and intriguing events . Exciting and thought-provoking screenplay by director Jose Giovanni himself , in fact he film was part of a campaign against death penalty (by means of guillotine , the ordinary tool used for carrying out the execution) in France that took place in the 1970's that was eventually abolished in France in 1981. Concerning a character studio about unsettling roles damned to inevitable tragedies , a powerful finale , as well as stylized set pieces heightens the suspense and tension having place in all Jose Giovanni's film-making . One of his favourite actors was Alain Delon , whom Jose directed many times . Actors' interpretation is excellent as Jean Gavin playing a warm and compassionate social worker . And Alain Delon as a serious as well as tough ex-delinquent , former safe-cracker with dark past is magnificent .This is the best of Giovanni 's thrillers with Alain Delon as the expressionless delinquent . Delon's most successful film was ¨Le Samouraï ¨, Delon has striven in vain to repeat this success in numerous subsequent movies at the same genre , similar others known actors as Lino Ventura , Jean Paul Belmondo and generally directed by Henri Verneuil , Jose Giovanni and Jacques Deray . Delon went on to appear with Gabin in several of the star's subsequent movies , often playing a gangster , including the classic ¨The Clan of Sicilians" , and going on the criminal genre with Jean Gabin in "The Big Snatch" (1963) , this work, a classic example of the genre, was distinguished not only by a soundly worked-out screenplay, but also by the careful production and the awesome performances of both Delon and Gabin. It was only in the late 1960s that the sleek and lethal Delon came to epitomize the calm, psychopathic hoodlum, staring into the camera like a cat assessing a mouse. Support cast is pretty good , such as : Mimsy Farmer, Victor Lanoux, Ilaria Occhini , Bernard Giradeau , Guido Alberti , Christine Fabréga and brief apperance of a young Gérard Depardieu. Special mention for Michael Bouquet as the malevolent , stubborn Police Inspector Goitreau .

Evocative and atmospheric cinematography by Jean-Jacques Tarbès is simply riveting . Adding enjoyable musical score by Philippe Sarde, it's sensitive and agreeable , including a feeling leitmotif . The motion picture was well produced by Pierre Caro, André Mucchielli and Alain Delon himself. Being compellingly written/directed by Jose Giovanni , making a memorable work , though sometimes results to be slow-moving . Giovanni participated in the French Resistance during World War II . Worked as a lumberjack , diver , mountain guide and coal miner . Jose wrote 20 novels, 2 memories' books , 33 scripts , and directed 15 movies and 5 TV movies . His novel, "Le Trou," ("The hole", slang for prison) , which became a classic film , was based on his own escape attempt from a Paris prison . Director Jacques Becker bought the rights of the book and directed it in 1959 , considered to be the best prison movie . That's how José Giovanni entered the cinema world . He became a well-known dialoguist , scenarist too, working many times with Jacques Becker . Then he directed his first movie in 1966 , "La Loi Des Survivants" , while he was still writing novels about gangsters , cops , prison and manly friendship . He was a purveyor of a certain kind of noir movie , creating his own company and a tiny studio . Some of his films , many are based from his own novels , include Le Rapace (1968), La Scoumoune (1972) , The gypsy (1975) , Boomerang (1976) , and Le Ruffian (1983). Giovanni directed some great French actors as Alain Delon , Jean Gabin , Jean-Paul Belmondo , and , of course , Lino Ventura .

Inevitability

[Aleluya · 10/10 · 26 July 2005]

(SPOILERS) This is the story of a man (Delon) who commits a mistake (a bank robbery) and, although being an excellent person, is never given a second chance by so-called justice. The film is slow (but certainly not boring) as we assist to the development of the character; we see him recovering from 10 years of prison after the bank assault. We also see his love for a first woman, who dies in a car crash (note that nobody actually goes to jail for that "accident" -it was during a car race, and Delon and his wife find themselves right into it without not even knowing it-). After that, he recovers and moves to Montpellier, always under the assistance of his protector (and narrator of the film), where he finds a good job and falls in love with a wonderful girl who happens to work in a bank. Misluck follows then. A "fair" cop who was in his first arrest ten years ago finds him in Montpellier and immediately believes that he is running after mischief. As the cop harasses him (and his wife and his friends) more and more, and tries to link him with another Bank robbery that he has definitely not committed, Delon founds himself hopelessly trapped in the net of justice. Exhasperated, Delon finally kills the cop in the wave of rage (quite understandably) and predictably he is sent to jail and sentenced to death. Death sequence that follows (operated by the all-times star french guillotine) is tactful and strikingly hard, and (thankfully) rather short. The film is quite surprising and the sequence of acts matches like an infernal machine of doom: he main character cannot escape but can see it approaching (so can we). All in all is a perfect rebuke to the hypocrisy of the so-called Justice. A must watch.

Going straight.

[brogmiller · 5/10 · 1 June 2021]

Jean Gabin and Alain Delon certainly had a 'dynamic' in their two previous films for Henri Verneuil and as anticipated this third pairing proved successful at the box-office. This time round alas the director is José Giovanni. His contributions to the gangster genre as a writer, based upon his own criminal past, are indisputable and have been interpreted by some of the finest French directors and actors. As a director however he is nothing more than capable.

The main problem with this particular film is that in order to get his message across Giovanni has laid on the sentimentality with a trowel, almost embarassingly so. Adopting the role of moral crusader against the French judicial system and the death penalty is something that André Cayatte did much more subtly and to far greater effect. The film is further weakened by Philippe Sarde's syrupy score.

As for the performances Messieurs Gabin and Delon do what they do extremely well. As the ex-con trying unsuccessfully to shake off his past, Delon engages our sympathy and it is indeed ironic that he was supposedly in favour of capital punishment. Gabin never lost the compulsion to work but here he appears to have trouble staying awake. Not for the first time or indeed the last, it is the mesmerising Michel Bouquet who walks away with the film. He is utterly chilling as the odious Inspector Goitreau who pursues the Gino of Delon with a vengeance in the same way that Javert hounds Valjean. Of course Bouquet was to follow in the footsteps of Vanel, Laughton and Blier when playing that role opposite the Valjean of Lino Ventura.

Giovanni remained cagey about his past especially the time he spent on death row, understandably so, as he and a Vichy collaborator, blackmailer and convicted triple murderer named Joseph Damiani were eventually revealed to be one and the same man!

In view of this I would advise when watching his films to keep your moral compass handy. They say that crime doesn't pay but in his case it decidedly did.

nostalgia

[Kirpianuscus · 28 March 2018]

It represents the ash after its final credits. last meet between Gabin and Delon on screen, it is a film inspiring, for an old man like me, nostalgia. because it seems a puzzle with familiar pieces. simple. but seductive. dramatic. for the nuances. a story about second chance, justice and sins. one of films for a precise target. because it is one of keys to an universe of cinema who seems, for many reasons, lost today.

Spendid

[vedinfowind · 8/10 · 14 December 2020]

Very good and amazing movie to see. You can watch and fun more

Tragic defeatist propaganda

[Delrvich · 9/10 · 2 February 2020]

Sure, this could happen and probably does around the world. Weak, non-existent defense or protest for the victim during the trial in the movie. And, its movies like this that reinforce the acceptance and finality of injustice.

Lame unfocused thriller

[vostf · 3/10 · 4 September 2012]

Alain Delon produced this movie and this sums up its flaws: 'Two Men in Town' is mostly about showcasing a very likable ex-con. A real role model for ex-con actually. You can guess that the story of a very likable ex-con offers very little to entertain (not joking here) or thrill you. Actually the movie looks like a would-be film noir where fate takes the whole movie to step in. In a real bona fide film noir the hero is gradually derailed from the start, here we have to wait again and again. And suspense it is not, not when it's just about waiting for something to really happen as opposed to teasing.

José Giovanni never was a good director, his main flaw being his dull complacent treatment of honour/friendship among thieves/gangsters and other all-brawn social outcasts. So he was always weak on character depth and character development. Now, when you are tired you can enjoy the simplistic story and action of some of his movies, the problem being there is no action here and Giovanni has no clue what character psychology might be (well apparently you never get a chance to understand psychology in jail).

All in all you can passively enjoy this movie on a dull evening. Gabin is not doing much, but it's Gabin and he still had charisma. Delon is pleased with his poor handsome straight guy thingy and it is OK to watch him enjoy it (that is taking his slim role very much seriously). Then there are a couple of nice supporting characters that happen to ring in and they do help to stand 90 minutes of mostly nothing.

The ending fails to bring something new, it even fails to build a consistent case against death penalty. The last few images of Delon should be gripping, but the setup was too low-key for it to be the heart-wrenching moment you would expect.

This is a truly masterpiece of Alain Delon film!

[estayunita · 6 June 2022]

I never cried watching Alain Delon's film before, but this one is an exception.

However, despite the differences between Alain Delon and Jean Gabin, their acting styles share melancholy and barely repressed violence. In Two Men in Town (1973), the final of their collaborations together, the stars share enough iconic chemistry for their scenes to reflect the intergenerational passing of a torch.

This is such a touching film. It's so sad when I see the ratings and review while this film should be more have recognition.

Good job, Alain! Also my crush.

Lame, slow, boring...

[AldoSterone · 2/10 · 20 January 2015]

Without even checking, I knew from the first 20 minutes that the movie is from the post-1968 era in France. At the time, they tried to build a case against death penalty and raise awareness on the issues faced by ex-cons trying to return to normal life. The intention is good but the concept didn't age very well. First of all, there is no death penalty in France any more and presenting the convicts as "victims" is not perceived as a reasonable position today. Giovanni makes one character say: "we must destroy all prisons and the problem is solved". Just this quote gives you the spirit of the whole movie.

For the rest, nothing really happens. At times, the camera work reminds me of romantic movies for 16-year old girls: slow motion, love music, people playing, jiggling, happiness in their faces, hugging in slow motion again... I mean, really??

The voice-over is irritating. They use it too much along the movie. So rather than showing what's happening, they actually tell it.

Heavy-handed critique of the French judicial system

[Camera-Obscura · 5 November 2006]

TWO AGAINST THE LAW (José Giovanni - France/Italy 1973).

Alain Delon is former safe-cracker Gino Strabliggi, who is released from prison after mediation by prison reformer Germain Cazeneuve (Gabin). Banned from Paris by statute, Gino tries to make a new start in Montpellier, in the south of France, where he finds honest work as a printer and a new love in the form of Lucie (Mimsy Farmer). The vengeful policeman inspector Javert (Michel Bouquet), who arrested Gino in Paris, pursues him to Montpellier and harasses him, his employer and his new girlfriend. Gino, who desperately tries to straighten his life, is increasingly pushed to breaking point. A pretty much unknown Gérard Depardieu also has a small part (only one scene actually) as a young ambitious gangster who tries to intimidate Gino early on in the film.

The whole plot is much too obvious and bears little surprises. The film begins well enough but early on, it's clear Gino is gonna snap at some point. The middle part is slowly paced and - quite simply - boring. In the end, with the court scene and a dramatic ending, the film comes back to life in a way, but that came a little too late for me. Gabin and Delon carry this a long way, with Gabin more world-weary than ever, but he seems just as tired as everybody in the film. But he delivers and - as always - remains fascinating to watch. Delon is ultra slick, handsome and cool, especially for a ex-convict, but he's not given much material to shine. In one small scene, when he is summoned to keep the music down by the neighbours in his Montpellier apartment, he only needs his body language to intimidate. As far as French actors are concerned, he remains the ultimate example of sophisticated coolness.

Corsican born director Jose Giovanni was on death row himself shortly after World War II, and was pardoned by the French president. Obviously this story is a cause celèbre the director, but his attack on the French justice system and the death penalty is heavy-handed and obvious in the extreme. After a while, with Gabin's voice-over hammering home the director's convictions, I couldn't care less about Gino's fate. The much praised score by Philipe Sarde comes across as old fashioned and overly clammy now, not much of a recommendation as far as I'm concerned. This could have been much better, but it's of minor interest for Delon or Gabin fans at best.

Camera Obscura --- 5/10

Jean Gabin as a Marxist God figure

[leforcat · 4/10 · 9 October 2008]

There are only two reasons to see this film: 1. Jean Gabin and 2. An almost flawless example of a certain zeitgeist of the early 70:s. There has been several films made in several countries around the basic theme: in an evil system it's the oppressors that are responsible for creating criminals, who are actually themselves victims of a faulty society, therefore criminals should be set free and the system overturn - a new, better system shall come in which, by default, there will be no crime because we won't have any cause for it. All based on a Marxist conception of criminality in modern society that, by the way, still after 40 years rules among most criminologists in western Europe. All this is handed down to us by an extremely heavy-handed director (Giovanni is responsible for writing some of the best scripts in French cinema and should have left directing to directors), complete with lines such as "People will march on the streets!" and Gabin's final judgment on society "It's a killing machine". An utterly unbelievable criminal-turned-angel Delon tries to go straight after a 10-year sentence but the effort is shattered by an utterly unbelievably evil police detective. All this is witnessed by an elderly parole officer (Gabin) with a heart of gold. The plot is predictable, the end inevitable, and only the worst Hollywood-moralizing studio efforts are better at hammering a message down your throat. Here the message seems to be political while in Hollywood it's often rather religious, but the technique is the same, and strangely, you can hardly miss the Devil and God working around a hapless Man even here. Unless you're a fan of the great Jean Gabin, it's a waste of time.