Tuesday, March 03, 1998

Le deuxième souffle

075522 / 16 / FR / 1966 / Melville, Jean-Pierre / crime
Deuxième souffle, Le / Toinen hengenveto. © Les Productions Montaigne. P: Charles Lumbroso, André Labay. D+SC: Jean-Pierre Melville - based on the novel Un règlement de comptes by José Giovanni. DP: Marcel Combes. CAST: Lino Ventura (Gustave Minda = Gu), Paul Meurisse (inspector Blot), Raymond Pellegrin (Paul Ricci), Christine Fabrega (Manouche), Pierre Zimmer (Orloff), Michel Constantin (Alban), Marcel Bozzufi (Jo Ricci). 150’. B&w 1,66. Visa de contrôle 31941. Print: SEA / Adams-filmi. Viewed in Helsinki, SEA, Cinema Orion, Tuesday 3 March 1998. **** Gustave Minda, ”the Public Enemy”, escapes from prison and gets in shape for one final break. An infernal web of conflicting loyalties between criminal syndicates is spun, and the police plays the gangsters against one another. It all culminates in a tragic bloodbath. This is the long version, where everyday incidents and patient waiting build a special kind of tension which explodes in short economical bursts of action. The cinematography is grim and the ensemble of actors is first rate.

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