Jacques Becker, 1952 // the criterion collection //
7.0
i wasn't that intrigued last year when Criterion announced it planned to release Jacques Becker's Casque d'or and Touchez pas au grisbi. but then i saw Le trou. that was a turning point. it's an amazing film (about a simple prison break). that immediately got me excited about the two Criterion titles. sadly, though, Casque d'or didn't really do it for me. audiences at the time didn't take too well to it either. it was a period romance. a guy falls for a gangster's moll. it's less film noir than it sounds and more your run-of-the-mill period romance. a far cry from Becker's usual thrillers. of course his fingerprints are everywhere on the film. but it's the easy dancing, the foggy lense close-ups, and the lovey-dovey eyes the two 'lovers' exchange that make it a jarring flick to digest. the last act is worth it for Becker fans as the film suddenly grows some uncontested balls and grows dangerously dark. maybe that was the point. even though Reggiani's character is playing around with a gangster's moll, it's mostly safe for him because, even when it's out in the open, everyone just laughs it off. maybe that was Becker's intentions, to lull us into a safe zone and think we're watching a period romance after all. maybe that was it. but i felt the journey was a bit too long and uninvolving for me to feel rewarded at the end.
Posted by Anonymous | 6:53 PM
