Le Cercle rouge (1970/2002)
I cannot think of a single reason
for this film to deserve a rerelease to American arthouse
theaters. There is nothing here that is really all
that interesting. Okay, for film students who might
want to study films of the 70's there are a couple
things. The film is an interesting example of non-
dialogue driven storytelling, with several wordless
scenes in the 2 hour and 20 minute running time. It
may also be of interest to those who wants to see
a 70's example of the archetypical "heist" film, as
viewed through a foreign eye. Other than that, nada.
The film takes forever to set itself
up and the plot is so confusing, one easily gets lost
within it. Finally we figure out there are two separate
characters and their stories are, indeed, taking place
simultaneously. One man, Alain Delon, is a recently
released prisoner out to do a job set up by a prison
guard immediately upon his release. The other, Gian
Maria Volonte, is an escaped prisoner on the lam who
eventually goes into hiding with Delon.
There's a lot of plot here and a
lot of plot contrivances. None of the things that
go on here are particularly believable and all of
it smacks of 70's storytelling. The film might be
interesting and even a treasure at 90 minutes but
at 140, it becomes an exercise in futility and a drab,
dull headache. There is one moment of relief in the
center of the film (albeit, unintentional comic relief)
when a new character is introduced and we realize
that the snakes, lizards and rats crawling around
his room are all a part of a hallucination, a not-so-subtle
expositional device to let us know he is either a
drunkard or a drug addict.
As the film progresses it gets more
and more silly with the heist scene involving a acrobatic
entrance into a room avoiding electronic eyes that
is just silly by today's standards and a plot twist
involving a cute, pimply faced teenage boy who tries
to kill himself because he is caught smoking marijuana
in a ruse that almost backfires.
Watching "Le Cercle Rouge" was particularly
boring for me. Even with Delon looking like a stereotypical
gay guy from 1970. Delon was so fey and so feminine
that here, with a mustache, he looks more like Annie
Lennox in male drag than a criminal mastermind. There's
not much here to latch onto.
Note:
Also with Yves Montand.
Written and directed by Jean-Pierre
Melville. He would make only one more movie after
this before his death in 1973.
Released in France in 1970 and in
the U.S, in 1972. Rereleased by John Woo in France
in 2002 and in the U.S. in 2003.
Viewed at a press sneak at the Dobie
in July 2003. I ran into Marjorie Baumgarten from
the Austin Chronicle and chided her for that paper
not printing my name (or the names of any of the filmmakers)
of Agliff's 2003 "My Gay Movie" which had been presented
the night before. I think I made her uncomfortable
even though that was not my intention. Marjorie seems
to be a very nice person and is one of the few writers
of film criticism that I somewhat respect.
We also talked about the Regal company
and their plans to open a new Arbor theater in north
Austin sometime soon. None of us, including Dan the
Dobie manager, knew very much about it. Kevin, the
guy who used to manage the Arbor, is apparently going
to be at this new facility too. Agliff's "MGM" was
originally announced as showing at the Arbor before
it was rescheudled and moved to the Metropolitan.
At the announcements preceding "MGM," Agliff head
honcho Scott Dinger said the festival, held in August,
would also be at the Metropolitan."
