★ 7 / 10
Four men are stranded in, quite literally, a
CinemaSerf
Four men are stranded in, quite literally, a dead end town with no money to get out. All they do each day is kill time, drink and get gradually more…
Four men are stranded in, quite literally, a dead end town with no money to get out. All they do each day is kill time, drink and get gradually more disillusioned. Then their luck changes. Or does it? A major fire breaks out at a nearby oil drilling facility and the manager needs a brave/foolhardy gang to drive two truckloads of ultra-sensitive nitro-glycerin along some poorly maintained roads and across some treacherous terrain to the site so they can extinguish the fires. It's a pretty international convoy that sets off with their two travelling time bombs safe in the knowledge that the slightest vibration could blow them all to kingdom come. Of course, the sweltering heat and their fraying nerves all contribute to what now ensues - an almost perfectly paced drama that gradually raises the tension so that we almost share their perilous journey with them. "Mario" (Yves Montant) is a non-nonsense Corsican who pairs with,"Jo" (Charles Vanel) who is a bit of French thuggery. Luigi (Folco Lulli) just wants to get on with the job and he drives with the slightly enigmatic German "Bimba" (Peter van Eyck). There's not really another world for this film, despite it being filmed outdoors, in dense jungle. It's claustrophobic. Their world is reduced to two tiny cabs with danger around every corner, insects that would cheerily suck their blood and all for $2,000 each! The journey affects their characters too - the brash and confident "Jo" gradually succumbing to his fears whilst his partner steps up - and an inter-dependency of sorts develops that does rather surprise. Henri-George Clouzot creates a film here that really does have you caring for these men in the end - even if, at the start, you have little interest in or sympathy for them. He manages to convey to an audience the absolute sense of anguish and the sheer determination of these men as tragedy ensues and their priorities and perspectives take a jolt that would readily set off their cargo. I thought Vanel probably has the best character to portray here, but the increasingly effective dynamic with Montand works really well to create a must-see tale of survival.
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★ 8 / 10
It’s always my honour to write the first
James
It’s always my honour to write the first review for a film, especially ones like this. It, however, upsets me that not many have seen this magnificent and…
It’s always my honour to write the first review for a film, especially ones like this. It, however, upsets me that not many have seen this magnificent and harrowing masterpiece.
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★ 8 / 10
Watching a truck drive at 6 mph will have your pulse going 120 bpm
My title is not an exaggeration. If you thought OJ Simpson's slow speed chase was insane, you need to change the batteries in your pacemaker and check out…
My title is not an exaggeration. If you thought OJ Simpson's slow speed chase was insane, you need to change the batteries in your pacemaker and check out "Wages of Fear". This 1953 French classic tells the story of a bunch of guys who are stuck in a squalid South American village--a sort of Casablaca-esque purgatory--and will do anything to get out, even if it means getting themselves blown sky high. Slow and lazy for the first half (deliberately), the plot eventually reveals itself to be about a suicide mission to haul a zillion gallons of nitroglycerine across 300 miles of harsh terrain that would make the Coyote & Roadrunner take an early retirement.Yes, nitro is that stuff that you don't want to look at the wrong way or it may send you to the moon. "Wages of Fear" ultimately reveals itself to be a gripping character study of how people keep their wits, or come unravelled, when subjected to pure terror... with of course the reward of heaven dangling just out of reach. So again we see this subtle allegory of purgatory, hell and heaven which I'm sure was the intent of director Henri-Georges Clouzot.An interesting point of historical note is that when this film was released in the USA, around 15 minutes of its 150 min running time were cut. According to the Criterion mini-documentary "Censored", these cuts were largely due to the "anti-American" themes (the tyrannical oil corporation that exploits the lives of locals for the sake of a buck) as well as subtle themes of spiritual cynicism (the beautifully poetic "fence" monologue which symbolizes the absence of God/afterlife). By today's standards these censored scenes are prime time tv, but back in the 50s this movie was feared by US censors as being godless pinko propaganda. That might put a smirk on your face as you're watching this flick. But definitely look for the full 150ish minute version of this film, not the 130 min censored cut.But really, for the entire second half there will be no smirking, only tense gritting of teeth as you watch these rolling nuke trucks inch across the South American jungle. The hazards they encounter, as well as their ingenious attempts to survive them, are extremely creative and expertly filmed with the sort of suspense that would make Hitchcock lose his breath.Content advisory stuff: There's a scene in the beginning where a fine tarantula specimen gets squashed. After rewinding and rewatching the scene in slo-mo a dozen times, I'm almost certain that our unfortunate arachnid was a fake prop. If anyone knows differently please mention it in a review. The same scene shows a naked woman from behind, at a distance. Later in the film is a scene that shows a topless native woman from a distance--it's very artistic. Language is tame throughout the movie with maybe 1 or 2 instances of "merde" (the sh- word). While there is violence, none of it is shown explicitly on camera (some of it is disturbing, though). And unless you're a 1950s American censorship bureaucrat, there's nothing politically incendiary other than the notion that the almighty dollar is the root of much misery."Wages of Fear" is a well crafted, poetic, suspenseful film that certainly deserves its classic status in the history of cinema. Not unlike the classic Bogart/Lupino film "They Drive by Night" (1940), this film proves that a seemingly simple story about a bunch of truck drivers can really get your gears going.
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