Yogi's Movie Consumption Blog

An ex-convict is lured into planning a big robbery of a jewelry store. From a plot standpoint of view, there are many things in the film that don't add up too clearly. Some of the motivations of the characters eluded me and there are quite a few incidents that seemed a bit deus ex machina towards the end of the movie. But that doesn't matter at all, the films strange pacing and strong atmosphere sucked me in completely. Melville seems to explore the thin lines between those who break the law and the others who uphold it. There are many hints during the film that this boundary is even more blurred than one would think at the beginning. All the principals in the tale don't seem to have much choice as they stumble towards their inevitable fate. I thought it quite amusing that the police men trust each other much less than the criminals - they seem to bond immediately, no questions asked (literally). The first scene is quite captivating and it seems to play out the film...

The operation and code of honor of the French resistance movement during WWII. The image is quite interesting for a biopic in the sense that it doesn't focus on anything like a specific morale. Also, the story takes some very unexpected terms at quite some points. First to mind comes to scene where they man is saved from execution at literally the last moment (actually, it's after that to be precise). Another story point I didn't like too much was the self sacrifice of one of the members. It does make sense when retold, but the pacing of that story part just felt wrong somehow. The film has long phases where not a lot happens and then bursts into violence, although this is more at the beginning than at the end. The capturing of the many moods was quite interesting. It shows different aspects of the resistance leaders trying to operate in their very difficult condition. There is a lot of fear, there is a code of "honor" that everybody is obliged to serve. The...