Bob le flambeur

Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville and written by Melville and Auguste le Breton, Bob le flambeur (Bob the Gambler) is the story of a gambler who decides to rob a casino by planning a heist with a group of men. The film is an exploration into the planning of a heist as a man is determined to end his losing streak as well as hoping to get one last score. Starring Roger Duchesne, Isabelle Corey, and Guy Decomble. Bob le flambeur is a mesmerizing yet engaging film from Jean-Pierre Melville.

Bob Montagne (Roger Duchesne) is a notorious gambler currently dealing with a losing streak as he had just been out of prison while finds himself surrounded by lots of things around him. While he’s being watched by police investigator named Ledru (Guy Decomble), Bob maintains a low profile as he later meets a young man named Paolo (Daniel Cauchy) who has been hanging around with a seedy pimp named Marc (Gerard Buhr). Bob shows Paolo the ropes while they later meet a beautiful young woman named Anne (Isabelle Corey) who is intrigued by Bob though she finds herself in the company of Paolo. When Bob meets his friend Roger (Andre Garet), Roger reveals that he knows a croupier (Claude Cerval) at the Deauville Casino who claims that there’s 800 million francs in a vault.

Bob decides to stage a heist as he and Roger organize the heist very carefully as Paolo gets involved in the hopes to get off the clutches of Marc. For Bob, it’s the chance to live a retired life and not succumb to his losing streak. Things start of well as Roger even finds out what kind of safe is used for the heist, something eventually goes wrong when outside forces start to know what is going on making Bob nervous. Bob thinks about shutting the heist down until Paolo does something that would ease things. On the night of the heist where everything is set, Bob still feels uneasy where he would do something in the hopes to find another way to score big.

The film is essentially the story of a gambler making the ultimate gamble by planning a casino heist in order to have one last score. Notably as he hopes that a police investigator gets off his back while giving a young man and a young woman a chance to live a life outside of crime. Still, he is very careful about making sure things don’t go wrong yet things would go wrong where it would reveals about what not to do when one is involved in a heist. This would eventually lead to all sorts of complications forcing this down-on-his-luck gambler to find a way to succeed.

The screenplay by Jean-Pierre Melville and Auguste le Breton definitely plays to the element of film noir and the heist film where there’s a lot of rules and conventions that are featured. In the element of noir, there’s a man looking for a score as he gains a protégé to work with while he meets this young woman who is very interested in him. Bob Montagne is a man dealing with not just a losing streak but also irrelevancy in the crime world as there’s a lot happening around him including a pimp who is making deals all over town and taking whatever he can to succeed. By taking on this casino heist, Bob hopes to get away from the world of crime as he is careful about making sure nothing goes wrong. Yet, things would go wrong in the schematic of things where it reveals what not to do when one is involved in a heist. It would cause all sorts of implications making others nervous as the police would be involved.

Melville’s direction is definitely stylish in the way he presents the planning of the heist as well as the drama that unfolds in its titular character. While some of the visual aspects and scenarios are in the traditional of film noir in terms of the framing. Melville does play with those schematics in order to do something different where not many people play to the traditional archetype of film noir. Notably in the way he would use noir to present the motivation that Bob is looking for to set up the heist while Melville would briefly narrate in order to establish key moments of what Bob is doing.

Melville’s approach to the heist set up is unique in the way he slowly plays things out through some stylish shots including a wide shot of where Bob reveals to those he’s working with in how things have to play out. Still, it’s obvious something goes wrong as there’s this sense of tension that occurs late in the film where Bob becomes uneasy but what could go wrong. The film’s last 10 minutes are the most interesting as the focus is on Bob checking to see if everything is in place but something is amiss. The ending is also ambiguous for not what happens to him but to his whole crew. Overall, Melville creates a very masterful and intricate crime film that does a whole lot more than what is expected in the genre.

Cinematographer Henri Decae does fantastic work with the film‘s black-and-white photography from some of the entrancing, noir-style interiors to set a mood to the day and nighttime exteriors to maintain an air of suspense as well as a thriving energy of what happens in Paris. Editor Monique Bonnot does brilliant work with the editing that is definitely stylized with transitional fade-outs and wipes as well as rhythmic cuts that would later become the basis for the jump-cut. Set pieces by Claude Bouxin does wonderful work with the sets from the clubs and bars that Bob hangs out to the look of the Deauville Casino.

The costumes of Ted Ladipus are terrific for the clothes the men wear that plays to the noir genre as well as the stylish clothes of Anne. The sound work of Pierre Philippenko and Jacques Carrere is superb for its low-key sound in the casino as well as places set on location. The music of Eddie Barclay and Jo Boyer is a delight to hear for its mixture of playful jazz and ominous orchestral music to play out the suspense.

The film’s excellent ensemble cast includes some notable small roles from Claude Cerval as the croupier who gets involved in the heist, Colette Fleury as the croupier’s wife, and Gerard Buhr as the slimy pimp Marc. Andre Garet is wonderful as Bob’s associate Roger who helps him organize the heist while making sure Bob doesn’t fall prey to gambling. Guy Decomble is superb as police inspector Ledru who is keeping an eye on Bob to make sure he doesn’t get himself in trouble while waiting for him to screw up. Daniel Cauchy is great as the young criminal Paolo who learns the ropes of what it takes to succeed while his infatuation with Anne would eventually cause some problems.

Isabelle Corey is amazing as the young woman Anne who is a mixture of girlish innocence and intoxicating sexuality as someone who is intrigued by Bob. Finally, there’s Roger Duchesne in a phenomenal performance as the titular character as an aging gambler who knows his best days are behind him as he deals with a losing streak and irrelevancy as he is determined to make one final score.

Bob le flambeur is a masterfully-crafted crime film from Jean-Pierre Melville. Featuring outstanding performances from Roger Duchesne and Isabelle Corey, it’s a film that definitely takes the conventions of film noir and heist films and create something that is very different. Notably in exemplifying on what not to do which raises the dramatic stakes as it leads to a very engaging third act. In the end, Bob le flambeur is an incredible film from Jean-Pierre Melville.

Jean-Pierre Melville Films: 24 Hours in the Life of a Clown - Le Silence de la mer - Les Enfants terribles - (Quand tu liras cette lettre) - (Two Men in Manhattan) - (Leon Morin, Priest) - (Le Doulos) - Magnet of Doom - Le deuxieme souffle - Le Samourai - Army of Shadows - Le Cercle rouge - (Un flic)

© thevoid99 2013

The 400 Blows

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 6/27/05 w/ Additional Edits.

Throughout the emergence of cinema, international cinema has always been dominated by Americans. After World War II, that all began to change as Europeans began to take over. The Italians begin to a new wave of neo-realism while Sweden found a hero in Ingmar Bergman. In France meanwhile, French cinema was going under a new re-emergence since the end of the World War II but amidst the numbers of American films that were coming, only a small group of film critics from the magazines Cahiers du Cinema were starting to feel oppressed by not just the lack of quality in American films but the lack of personal introspection in their native films. Thus, a new wave was about to emerge and leading the pack was Francois Truffaut.

Born in February 6, 1932, Truffaut along with the likes of Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Chabrol, Alain Resnais, Jacques Rivette, Jacques Demy, and Eric Rohmer were writing serious, scathing reviews that attacked the farcical of American cinema with their mentor Andre Bazin. Though Truffaut left the magazine over tastes with Bazin, his reviews and knowledge had made him notorious to the point that the Cannes Film Festival would ban him because of his reviews. After making a few shorts, Truffaut was ready to make his feature film, an autobiographical story of a young boy who is misunderstood by the world as he rebels against authority in Les Quatre cents coups (The 400 Blows).

Written with Marcel Moussy, Les Quatre cents coups is a drama about a misunderstood child named Antonie Doinel. Feeling troubled by his bickering parents and tormented by an insensitive teacher, Doinel rebels and tries to live life on his own terms through watching films and getting into trouble. Playing the troubled kid is Jean-Pierre Leaud who brings a youthful study of a kid who isn’t sure why he does all the things he does and why he defies his parents. Based on Truffaut's own life, the film is one of the first of many landmark features of the French New Wave that would change the face of not just French cinema but also International cinema in the years to come. Also starring Robert Beauvis, Claire Maurier, Albert Remy, Guy Decomble, Patrick Auffay, with guest appearances from Jeanne Moreau and Jacques Demy. Les Quatre cents coups is a brilliant, whimsical drama from one of French Cinema's most enduring figures.

For the young Antoine Doinel, he is really a misunderstood child only understood by his best friend and schoolmate Rene (Patrick Auffay). In school, Doinel often gets in trouble, even if he hadn't done anything in front of his insensitive, strict teacher (Guy Decomble) who Antoine often calls Sourpuss. Even one of Antoine's schoolmates would often get him in trouble as Rene often calls that kid a rat. At home, Antoine's life isn't any better since the behavior of his parents would often shift from love to hate. On this particular day, it's his mother (Claire Maurier) that would be mean to him for not getting flour for dinner and love from his father (Albert Remy).

With Rene, Antoine skips school to go to the cinema and go to a funfair where they would be seen by Antoine's mother with another man and the rat kid who often wears goggle-like glasses. Antoine and his mother never said anything until the kid tells Antoine's father that he missed school and Antoine got into trouble. Forced to be out of the house, Antoine would live in a printing plant for the night where he would go out to steal milk or help a woman (Jeanne Moreau) to find a dog. Antoine returns to school where his mother takes him home after making a deal with the schoolmaster (Robert Beauvais). Antoine's mother asks him to be good by writing an essay for his class and if it makes it to the top 5, she gives him 1000 Francs. Antoine gets an idea while his father cools down a bit as he takes the family to the cinema.

Antoine seems to make good but his teacher claims the essay he wrote is a copy of the works of Balzac which Antoine denies. Antoine runs away again with the help of Rene as he lives secretly in an unused room of Rene's home. The two decide to cause more trouble and Rene has an idea to steal something that would make them a lot of money. Antoine suggests his father's typewriter but after a sale falls apart, Antoine tries to return the typewriter only to be caught by his father. Being taken to a policeman (Jacques Remy) and the commissioner (Folco Jacques Monod), Antoine goes to jail as the commissioner suggests that he is to be taken to a detention center for young juveniles. Antoine tries to understand his own behavior through a psychiatrist while revealing a dark family secret as his mother makes a brief visit with Antoine pondering his own destination.

While most coming-of-age stories seem to have some formula of a child growing up, in Truffaut's approach, it's more of a study of behavior and motives as he is trying to figure out what he did wrong in his own life. It's Truffaut commenting on his own childhood with the help of a confidant in Marcel Moussy as they try to figure out what good is in young Antoine Doinel and why does he do all of these bad things to his parents. The story from Truffaut and Moussy is very realistic in how a kid can be affected by bickering parents, an insensitive teacher, and everything else with only another kid at his side to find some answers and trouble. It's a very powerful story with an ending that really leaves things hanging but that is another story.

If the script that Truffaut and Moussy has concocted is the source of the film, there’s also Truffaut's directing style which is a bit documentary-like but also featuring some of the traditional frameworks of modern-day cinema. Using his script as a source, Truffaut goes for shots as if he is another person watching while there's some great shooting sequences including the famous scene of Doinel in the spinning ride where the camera moves in circles. There's also that final shot that is often imitated with that final freeze-frame shot and the word Fin (The End) appearing.

Helping Truffaut in the directing is cinematographer Henri Decae for bringing a natural, somewhat grainy black-and-white look to the film. With art director Bernard Evein, the film has a very realistic look on the locations and street life of Paris while editor Marie-Joseph Yoyette gives the film a rhythmic, jump-cut editing style on some sequences with traditional dissolving cuts. Finally, there's Jean Constantin's playful, innocent score that gives the film a sense of youthful vibrancy and melancholy in the dramatic sequences.

With a wonderful cast that includes standout performances from the children plus memorable cameos from Truffaut, Jacques Demy, and Jeanne Moreau, who would star in Truffaut's 1962 film Jules & Jim. The performances of Claire Maurier and Albert Remy as Antoine Doinel's bickering parents are wonderfully complex as loving yet flawed parents who don't understand their son while are desperate to make him good only to be destroyed by a family secret. Maurier gives the more memorable of the two, especially in the film's final moments when she confronts her son. Robert Beauvis and Folco Jacques Monod are memorable in their appearances as the respective authority figures of schoolmaster and commissioner who aren't mean but are trying to understand Doinel. The two best supporting performances come from Guy Decomble as the insensitive teacher with his cruelty to the children and Patrick Auffay as Rene, the only confidant that Doinel has who too has an affinity for trouble and rebellion but unlike Doinel, he seems to come from a more comforting home than the one that Doinel has in a wonderful, calculating performance.

Finally, there's the young Jean-Pierre Leaud who gives a brilliant performance in the complex role of Antoine Doinel. Leaud gives the kid a bit of sympathy but also a bit of sleaziness. Leaud makes sure that Doinel isn't a good kid or a bad kid but he's a bit of both. He makes Doinel someone many kids can relate to, he hates school, his parents are a mess, he has an awful teacher, and he can’t stand authority. Yet, he has dreams and escapes that every kid has. By the time the film goes, we see Leaud trying to understand this kid as he is playing him and wondering, why is he unhappy, why does he do all of these things. It's truly a mesmerizing performance.

When Les Quatre cents coups came out at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival, removing the ban off of Truffaut, the film was an international hit as Truffaut won Best Director while the film helped open the door for brand new, introspective films to come as part of the French New Wave. With Truffaut also contributing to Jean-Luc Godard's A Bout de Souffle, The film's wide acclaim would help get across to America where Truffaut and co-writer Marcel Moussy both received Oscar nominations for Best Original Screenplay.

Truffaut would create many more films to come including Jules & Jim, Shoot the Piano Player, Day for Night, Wild Child, The Last Metro, and Two English Girls while appearing in Steven Spielberg's 1977 film Close Encounters of the Third Kind before his death in 1983. Truffaut would continue the story of Antoine Doinel with Leaud in the role including the 1962 short Antoine et Colette, 1968's Stolen Kisses, 1970's Bed & Board, and 1979's Love on the Run. Leaud meanwhile continues to find success as an actor appearing in films for Bernardo Bertolucci and Jean-Luc Godard while being an icon in French cinema when in 2003, he played himself in the recreating of a speech in Bertolucci's tribute to French cinema in The Dreamers.

While a bit more conventional but less stylized than Godard’s debut film A Bout de Souffle, Les Quatre cents coups is still a landmark film from the French New Wave. Thanks to Francois Truffaut's mesmerizing directing and storytelling and the performance of Jean-Pierre Leaud, this film is a wonderful introduction to French Cinema and the works of Truffaut. More than 40 years since its release, this film still holds up for its approach to storytelling and character study as the movie still resonates with an audience, notably its idea of youth. With Les Quatre cents coups, it's a great place to start for those interested in French Cinema.

Francois Truffaut Films: Shoot the Piano Player - Jules & Jim - Antoine & Colette - The Soft Skin - Fahrenheit 451 - The Bride Wore Black - Stolen Kisses - Mississippi Mermaid - The Wild Child - Bed and Board - Two English Girls - Such a Gorgeous Kid Like Me - Day for Night - The Story of Adele H. - Small Change - The Man Who Loved Women - The Green Room - Love on the Run - The Last Metro - The Woman Next Door - Confidentially Yours

(The Auteurs #40: Francois Truffaut (Pt. 1) - (Pt. 2))

© thevoid99 2011