Le Duolos (1964)

 Le Duolos (1964)

Jean-Pierre Melville’s Le Duolos is the French auteur’s take on the noir genre. In a sense, he introduced neo-noir films to French audiences. It is very clear where Melville got his influences from (American cinema, hello!). But he combined the traditional noir filmmaking with the evolving and more modern French New Wave movement. The final result was a stylistic gangster picture with some excellent performances, rapid scene movement/editing, and interesting lighting/shadow techniques. That said, I could not help but have a cold feeling upon completion of the movie. Melville’s film comes across as a more modern or “cool” noir movie, but I did feel a little off about the story itself. Is it the talkative nature of the film? Is it just the story itself that is cold, as there is hardly any sequences of joy, laughter, or happiness? Is it the dark theme of betrayal? Regardless, I did find the French version of noir to be interesting.

It is plainly obvious that Jean-Pierre Melville is very influenced from American lifestyles. The director even changed his name and based his new name off Herman Melville. In these French streets, he uses the cars obviously made in Detroit. His gangsters have long trenchcoats, have guns, hang out in cocktail bars, etc. On a basic viewing level (and aside from the fact the characters are speaking French), I would not have blamed you if you thought this was a film from Billy Wilder or John Huston. If you dig deeper, you can see his French sensibilities pull through as part of the New Wave movement; different uses of camera angles, a quicker approach to editing, and an almost documentary like feeling to this picture. His screenplay/directing also becomes less predictable. If I thought this was a noir film, I may be able to put the pieces together early on. I could not do so here, which is why I applaud Melville’s skill.

The film received great reviews from the French critics. That said, contemporary American critics were less kind with the words “superficial” and “cold” being thrown around. I agree with the film being cold, but it is far from superficial. This picture is considered to be “lost.” Thankfully, Criterion came and saved the day. Melville is not as big of a name like Godard, but this was my introduction to this movement, so I got the chance to see it combined with the more traditional noir filmmaking. Not always perfect, but definitely a treat as the story takes different paths.

Maurice Faugel (Serge Reggiani) is a burglar who was recently paroled from prison. Immediately out of prison, Maurice plans a robbery, which was meant to be simple and quick. It was anything but and he is on the run from the police yet again. Now evidence points to Maurice’s former friend and partner, Silien (Jean-Paul Belmondo). Silien also has that reputation of being a police informer. Did Silien truly rat out his partner? Certainly no one can be trusted as the lives of these two men take interesting turns.

Jean-Paul Belmondo was a big French star when this film was released. I think he did a good job embellishing in the noir genre. Same goes for Serge Reggiani. Now, I’ve never heard of these gentlemen, but their performances opened an eye of mine-especially Belmondo.

Overall, Le Duolos is a must see only if to see a French version of the traditional American noir genre. If anything, it’s a good introduction to the New Wave movement. You can easily tell how the film was influenced from American filmmaking, but I like how Melville incorporated his own ideas and techniques. The story itself, despite its coldness, has depth and many twists and turns. At times, I felt like it was more complicated than expected. If you’re a film of 1940’s classics like The Maltese Falcon or Double Indemnity, why got give France the opportunity to create a similar movie.

My Grade: B