For me, there are two primary aspects to consider when judging a film: what does it have to say, and how does it say it. A flick can succeed or even excel in one department, but it's all for naught if it lets viewers down in the other. Case in point, Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Deuxième Souffle, a French gangster noir with a hell of a story on its hands. The film's main aim is to question the idea of honor among thieves, of whether those engaged in such seedy activities truly abide by any sort of shared moral code. Melville has a great concept to work with, but the laborious way in which Le Deuxième Souffle moves along ends up almost crippling the movie's burgeoning coolness factor.
After being sent up the river for a heist gone wrong, Gustave "Gu" Minda (Lino Ventura) never thought he'd see the light of day again. But ten years after his imprisonment, Gu has finally escaped and is ready to join his former comrades, including gal pal Manouche (Christine Fabrega), once again. Unfortunately, he's landed smack dab in the middle of a war between his old crew and a restaurateur (Marcel Bozzufi) eager to move in on their turf. Gu takes the pleasure of knocking off a couple of annoying hoods, but he's not out of the woods yet. There's still the matter of leaving Paris with enough cash to start life anew, and with no other options, Gu is coerced into taking part in a daring highway robbery. But hot on his trail is Inspector Blot (Paul Meurisse), a fast-moving and resourceful cop who's not above resorting to underhanded tactics in order to put Gu back behind bars.
Going into Le Deuxième Souffle, I wasn't expecting typical gangster fare. I knew from seeing a couple of Melville's pictures beforehand that his time would be spent stripping away the layers of glamorization Hollywood features bestowed upon the criminal lifestyle. For the most part, this is true, for Le Deuxième Souffle starts the action off on a tense but somber note. Viewers quickly become acquainted with the desperation Gu feels after making his great escape, experiencing the world slowly closing in on him as he does.
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