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Reviews
Le samouraï (1967)
A vapid and insipid storyline
Le Samourai begins with a fake quote invented by Jean-Pierre Melville (ne Grumbach) from BUSHIDO, the elaborate list of the virtues encoded in the Samurai tradition that includes frugality, righteousness, courage, benevolence, respect, sincerity, honor, loyalty, and self-control. There is nothing in this pretentious movie about a hit job on a nightclub owner that remotely has anything to do with the Samurai tradition.
A hired French criminal, with the American name of Jef Costello, kills the nightclub owner in his office with no reason given. Costello is disconcerted to discover a witness to the killing, the club's female piano player who sees him exiting the office. The police arrest him in a sweep of suspects. Released when the main witness denies she saw him, Costello goes from being the hunter to the hunted, trailed by police.
He is then shot by the very people who hired him so that the crime cannot be traced. He escapes and is then unexpectedly rehired to murder the piano player to avoid being identified. However, when he arrives at the nightclub to shoot the piano player, he is killed by the police when he pulls a gun on her. Enigmatically, the gun is found to be unloaded and no explanation is given for this strange denouement.
The film consist of interminably long walks by Alain Delon along streets, long corridors through numerous doors, and drives in a stolen Citroen from venue to venue, all in silence. It is a tedious and even boring film.
The dialogue is insipid and the storyline is vapid. As a fan of French film, I found this to be one of the worst I have seen.
Christmas in Paris (2019)
A movie full of clichés set mostly in Montana....not Paris
I'm used to seeing real French movies made by serious directors in with a good script. However, I am not averse to a cheesy, romantic Christmas movie once in a while. But this is not one of them. For starters, there are too many 9/10 and 10/10 'reviews' that make me wonder who these people are. At the other extreme there are several 1-3/10 reviews as well which seem more authentic.
The rich French billionaire arriving in a black stretch limo with his own private jet meets gorgeous Big Sky former model - perfect setup. Flies her to Paris for Christmas to meet his maman. What's not to like?
The movie should be called "Christmas in Montana" since 90% of the movie is actually shot in the US with a bit in what is allegedly Paris. The whole sleigh ride with jingle bells and the Santa scene are ridiculously absurd and the dialogue is full of clichés. There is also the usual clichés of French fortunes based on vineyards, wine, fashion and fragrances. As Sam Goldwyn said "We need some new clichés".
The lead male actor Karl Landler does not seem at all authentic. He shows absolutely no passion, character, charm, or knowledge about anything remotely related to French cultural life or events. He is both shallow and callow. His dialogue is stilted and, oddly, he speaks to his maman in English. (Living part-time in Paris, I have never seen a mother and her son, speaking in English!) The director should have striven for more authenticity and done a more completely French dialogue with the French actors. Rebecca Dalton however, is lovely as the all-American (Canadian) gal who, despite uttering love-struck clichés walking along the Seine, does a creditable job.
But one saving grace is the first falling out between the smitten lovers in his wine cellar and it's ultimate resolution. The denouement is also a little bit of a twist that is the only genuinely emotional scene in the entire movie.