Synopsis
A gangster escapes jail and quickly makes plans to continue his criminal ways elsewhere, but a determined inspector is closing in.
1966 Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville
A gangster escapes jail and quickly makes plans to continue his criminal ways elsewhere, but a determined inspector is closing in.
Lino Ventura Paul Meurisse Christine Fabréga Michel Constantin Raymond Pellegrin Marcel Bozzuffi Pierre Zimmer Denis Manuel Pierre Grasset Paul Frankeur Jean Négroni Jacques Léonard Raymond Loyer Sylvain Lévignac Louis Bugette Albert Michel Jean-Claude Bercq Albert Dagnant Pierre Gualdi Marcel Bernier
Второе дыхание, نفس دوباره, Second Wind, Second Breath, Tutte le ore feriscono... l'ultima uccide, Hasta el último aliento, Der zweite Atem, Andra andningen, Втори дъх, 第二口气, O Segundo Fôlego, Druhý dech, Drugi oddech, 두번째 숨결, ギャング, Η δεύτερη πνοή, Друге дихання, Os Profissionais do Crime
Action! – Three Auteurs: In The Wavelength of Melville
Melville returns to the crime genre in black and white with this solid cat and mouse, heist movie, where some clever thieves set themselves up to steal some gold and the cops try to stop them.
All the performances are pretty solid, especially by Lino Ventura and French Walter Maltheau, aka Paul Meurisse, as the mastermind behind all the plans and the commissioner going after him. They bring charm, wit, and magnetism. The cinematography is once again pretty good, not the best in the filmmaker’s filmography, but solid. Here we also see him putting into practice these long tracking shots/heists where there’s little to no music or sound, and we see…
While other contemporary French filmmakers might stage a modern heist like an outlaw gang capturing a stagecoach at a desolate mountain pass in an old Western. However, only Jean-Pierre Melville would use an Oldsmobile Vista-Cruiser station wagon to getaway with the loot. It’s the perfect symbol of his unique Franco-American hybrid crime films. This could never be confused for an American noir nor a New Wave homage like Don’t Kill the Piano Player.
The term film-noir comes from the French Série Noire crime novels. Godard and Truffaut made films based on American pulp novels in the series. However Melville, the most American-influenced of the group, only adapted French policiers from the series. Melville based this film on a policier by…
“A man is given but one right at birth: to choose his own death. But if he chooses because he’s weary of his own life, then his entire existence has been without meaning.”
Lino Ventura is a crime-master whose crime signatures are never snitching and executing people inside moving cars in this crime epic from the God of Crime movies Jean Pierre Melville.
Le Deuxième Souffle ('Second Wind') once again sees director Jean-Pierre Melville in the murky French underworld; blending American noir and new wave for a precise but sprawling narrative dealing with issues of honour and betrayal. The film begins with a silent prison break that really just typifies the director's minimalist style. Our lead Gu Minda (Lino Ventura) is a man whose moral compass is concerned only with protecting his criminal bretherin and reputation. This is not a film that glorifies crime in any way - our lead is capable but not suave. He barely has any redeeming qualities in the usual sense and his life depicted is one of hiding in the shadows; one last desperate job to get him…
So been sitting on a friends copy of this and a Duvivier for a while. Before you ask it didn't hurt or leave a mark.
Ok with French Cinema, the unholy trinity will always be Bresson, Godard and Melville, possibly a special shout out to Tati as well. This was one of the four Melville films not seen (up to this point) due to the rarity of this in the UK. This is being watched on the Korean DVD who known knows if they are are a legit label.
There was some fine drama and some great actions sequences here (the opening sequence and the heist itself) but it was too long sadly, and I did find the pacing to be off here.
Robert Beksinski's #10 Film Selection for Edgar
Le Deuxième Souffle is one hell of an interesting transition in style and execution considering Melville's trajectory.
On one hand, there's the film-noir influences on his career which resulted in a few of the most important neo-noir contributions in cinema history, directed by Melville himself. Bob le Flambeur (1956) carried this.
Then there's the complex web of character interrelations and double-crossings reunited by a primary plot and reacting in secondary subplots, the latter hiding the characters' motivations, interests and intentions. Melville achieves this with true brilliance. Each character is an evil entity of unpredictable moral. An unusual group of characters with various shadowy (and disturbing) backgrounds interacting with a common criminal purpose would…
“My name is my name.”
The man who has devoted his life to a certain set of codes and principles dictated by loyalty, silence and respect is a man who will give his life to maintain his integrity; such is the way of the honorable malefactor. Honorable in their own terms, these charters are prescribed by those who’s existence resides outside the law, yet they are not followed by a vast majority of their criminal counterparts. Despite a multitude of chances to get away with the loot, or when facing the long arm of the law, and even in the throes of certain death, Gu (Lino Ventura) has but one sole concern: clearing his name and preserving his honor. Melville…
"A man is given one right at birth: to choose his death. But if he chooses death simply because he is weary of life, then his life has been meaningless."
Le Deuxieme Souffle, Jean-Pierre Melville's minimalist crime epic, is wrapped around a setup we've all seen before: a criminal escapes from prison and risks one more job to get enough money to run away forever. But the details and execution are all completely different. Melville opens the film with an extended scene of Gustave "Gu" Minda (Lino Ventura) and his colleagues escaping from jail, and the entire sequence plays out without dialogue or music, letting the action guide us into the narrative.
Aside from this brilliant visual direction (aided by…
I'm about to make a weird comparison, but stick with me for a second.
When I saw Magic Mike, I remember being put off by how jarringly uneven it was in terms of both pacing and mood. Only later did I realize that the film's unevenness was a perfect reflection of the lives it depicted, lives which swung wildly between the thrill of being on stage and the aimless meandering between shows; between uncontrolled, chemical highs and deep, irresistible darkness. And, I'd argue, the feel of Jean-Pierre Melville's Le deuxième souffle similarly reflects the lives of its protagonists, taking us from desolate loneliness to the intimacy of share violence; from grim, deadening routines to the knife's edge of improvisation. Whether…
The last film Jean-Pierre Melville shot in black and white is firmly in the traditional mould: namely, a brilliantly executed violent crime thriller.
But scratch beneath the surface and what we really have is a minimalist study of loneliness - a theme repeated in Le Samouraï - in which a career criminal becomes more than a little tired of his life of crime.
This is a fabulous film; a rich and razor-sharp foray into Melville's universe.
Filmmaking as an existential trap. When your main character exists just to reach his expiration date, every choice and every image becomes a matter of giving physical existence to every obstacle in the way. I think Les Doulos will always be my favorite Melville gangster film because it has the perfect balance between careful detailed underworld and his own tics, but this one might be the purest.
Gustave “Gu” Minda (Lino Ventura) is like Bob Le Flambeur’s angry, younger brother. Gu is grizzled, tough as nails, and humourless. He’s an old time gangster who gambled and lost and now he’s on the run forever, relying on a network of old associates to keep him going.
We first meet up with him at dawn, along with two others, breaking out from jail. Everything is silence and grey apart from their exertions, with the older Gu noticeably labouring. The wintry skies expose the refugees as they race to board a train. It’s a great opening scene, introducing us wordlessly to the gangster’s harsh world of fine margins and sudden death. Gu has little currency, just his wits and the…