Showing posts with label Parisian metro. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Parisian metro. Show all posts

Monday, February 18, 2008

A slick portrayal of an ice cold angel who likes to kill people for money ! ! ! !


Le Samouraï (1967) directed by Jean Pierre Melville

One can say a thousand things about this film but for most people it would remain a very succinct portrayal of a deadly killer who is known for his ice cold behavior.To get this effect Meville deftly handled Alain Delon for this difficult task of a criminal who is very much aware of all his assigned tasks.Our film's contract killer Jeff Costello is also very cautious about his image and nothing can stop him not even a deadly cat and mouse chase carried out in Parisian metro stations.It is true that "Le Samourai" is a gangster film of french sensibilities but what makes it different from American films of the same genre is that our hero likes to say only perfect things instead of making half baked tall claims as done by most of the actors in American films about crime and criminals.Apart from Alain Delon's taut acting, Samurai boasts of fine performances by François Périer as a determined cop hell bent on arresting Jeff Costello.As a glamorous doll Nathalie Delon looks credible but not so elegant as Kathy Rosier who can be termed as the film's heart and soul.

Friday, January 4, 2008

Parisian metro : chaos follows even if it closes for a day.


Zazie dans le metro directed by Louis Malle.

Films featuring metro are a sub genre in itself.In French cinema,2 of the most eccentric metro films are :subway and Zazie dans le métro.On the one hand "Subway" is more of an "in the metro" film,on the other hand "Zazie dans le métro" can be defined as something of "outside the metro" film.Nothing much happens in the metro itself.This is because in the film Parisian metro is just a metaphor in order to allow a young girl to explore the intricacies of the adults' behavior.The young girl whose role is nicely played by Catherine Demongeot is a veritable trouble maker.Although she is in Paris to enjoy her stay, she is more interested in pestering her uncle.Great French actor (now dead),Philippe Noiret plays the role of the hapless uncle who is absolutely at a loss as to how to reply to his niece's absurd questions.This film by Louis Malle is quite unusual as there is no other film which can match its spirit of freewheeling fun.For fact finders, the film is based on a novel by Raymond
Queneau who was close to surrealist writers of his times.