Le Samouraï (The Godson)

• 
  
  July 10, 2009

  ebs90

  Le Samourai is a masterpiece. Now that we got that out of the way, I suppose it's unnecessary to even say that it's a MUST watch and that it single-handedly outdoes most of the other French New Wave films I've seen so far.

  
  
  Jean Pierre Melville's film is a homage to the ...( read more)American noir: its stylings and its characters. And it's probably better than most of those films. It's hypnotizing in a way that really transcends an explanation -everything is just right, everything just falls into place in every scene: set, lighting, score, cinematography, everything. It's a film in which the quality of the technical aspects and the precision of each montage is on par with the quality of the performances. Alain Delon is larger than life as Jef Costello.
  
  

  Jef is a hired assassin who lives a life not different from that of a samourai... as Delon said once during an interview, he is a modern-day samourai. He's lonely -although it's unclear whether this is because he chose to shun people or because they chose to shun him a cause of his strange nature-. Rather, he chooses to be alone. It is as though his job is his one motivation. He never expresses feeling. He is self-sufficient. He is helplessly committed to the twisted honor of his profession. Alain Delon's performance is stunning: there is always something behind his cold blue eyes, and we know it's there, but it's so perfectly collected and repressed. His countenance never changes, only when it absolutely must, and then the impact of these changes is awe-inspiring. There is an aggressive masculinity to his role, but Delon himself is very feminine. He's an assassin, but he's beautiful. His screen presence is everything. Without that game of isolation and charisma, ugliness and beauty, Le Samourai wouldn't be nearly as remarkable. It's a film driven by one performance. One perfect performance.

  
  
  The rest of the film's success is the styilization. When watching Le Samourai, you breathe mood -mood -mood. The cinematography is wonderful; Paris is seen in washed-out blues, beiges and whites. Every character is dressed and carries itself with flair. Every man blowing out cigarette smoke is perfectly framed, perfectly half-hidden in the dark, all movements perfectly orchestrated. The atmosphere is almost reverential towards the heaviness of the subject, and melancholy in accordance to the main character's self-constructed doom.
  
  

  The final (and probably the most important) charm of Le Samourai is the character of Jef Costello himself. He has a compromise, based purely on principle, that would be unthinkable in an era in which people flee from committment. He has chosen a revolting line of work that he elevates with the odd dignity with which he performs every little task. He never gives up on solitude. He never bows to anyone. He believes the ethics of his profession are to be taken seriously.

  
  
  ...And he knows that he can't succeed in the modern world by acting that way. Principles, for whatever purpose, are out of date. He knows he's doomed to fail, and so do we, ever since the first shot. So the entire film is really how he walks towards his destiny, understanding that he can't escape it. And everything ends in the most beautiful and sad way possible.
  
  

  Le Samourai is free for interpretation. Its content is just as ambiguous as it must be in order to stay within its poetic context. I could never stop praising it. Melville found the way to do what I suppose filmmakers all seek: create a film in which images, colors, gestures, decisions, what happens behind the faces of the characters, can convey a message, and tell a story. He doesn't need words, he doesn't make use of explanations. It's breathtaking. I can't recommend it enough.

  Share This Review
• 
  
  May 25, 2009

  ceWEBrity

  Alain Delon is flaming hot sex. Also, this is a knockout example of communicating a lot while saying very little in cinema terms; as soon as I finished it I felt like I could talk about it for half an hour. The unusual ending just helps to sell this depth, because you know that a...( read more) man as calculating and thoughtful as Jef couldn't have done this seemingly random act for no reason at all. The pacing is a little thick, but the fantastic editing and cinematography help to alleviate this. Every frame feels memorable and deliberate, and it helps you to burn the film into your mind all the more.
  
  Le Samourai is a piece best viewed analytically, a treasure trove of filmic ability and narrative depth that really will give any cinephile something to chew on. Incredibly impressive work.

  Share This Review
• 
  
  April 13, 2009

  sanjurosamurai

  an interesting story about a hitman in paris. the stoic nature of the film was well crafted and the actors were great. a film limited on diologue, the movement of the main character and the intrigue into his actions drives the film. a true classic, this film doesnt grab me aft...( read more)er two viewings like it does most, but it is still a great film that is the definition of the stylized approach of one of my favorite directors in history. while down the list a little for me this is often considered by many to be melvilles best film.

  Share This Review
• 
  
  April 5, 2008

  Jungian

  Jean Pierre Melville's crowning achievement. I love the music in this film.

  Share This Review
• 
  
  January 30, 2008

  DragonEyeMorrison

  Everyone from Besson to Woo and Jarmush, from Leon to The Killer and more recently Kim Ji Woon's A Bittersweet Life own a lot to Melville's Le Samourai. One of the most influential films ever made, probably the first sucessfull fusion of eastern and western references, from noir ...( read more)to samurai flicks. The "lonely-cool-cold-as-ice-killer" prototype becomes an icon in Alain Deloin's feet.
  
  And for fuck sake, remove that "Godson" title.

  Share This Review
• 
  
  November 18, 2009

  CurtisoftheDead

  I took a few minutes to figure out what I wanted to rate this. At first I gave it a 4 but felt that too low and I thought a bit more and realized that I actually couldn't identify anything imperfect about this film. Perfect score it is. This film is certainly a masterpiece upo...( read more)n reflection. The camera work is sharp and reflective of the tone of the movie. Everything is very precise. The lead by Alain Delon is stellar. He has cool shooting out of every pore without even cracking a smirk. The plot is marvelous but the way in which it is presented is amazing. Every setpiece is bleak and dismal, every move by Alain is calculated. I can't explain how unbelievably cool this movie is, and the performance by Delon takes it over the top. The pacing is perfect, I've heard complaints about this movie being boring. Honestly if this movie bores you it's because you have ADHD or are a complete and total moron or a combination of both. I was captivated through the intentionally slow paced movie for every moment. Delon's every action is entrancing. I could go on about the cinematography for a while but screw it.
  
  This film is in the Criterion Collection for a reason.
  
  Who should see this?
  1) Noir fans, especially nouveau noir
  2) Anyone who thinks the criterion collection is more than shit.
  3) Fans of Leon (The Professional)

  Share This Review
• 
  
  November 17, 2009

  ElCochran90

  "I never lose. Never really."
  
  LE SAMOURAÏ (1967)
  
  Director: Jean-Pierre Melville
  Country: France / Italy
  Genre: Thriller / Crime / Drama
  Length: 105 minutes
  
  ...( read more)w125/ElCochran90/Decorated%20images/?action=view¤t=delon.jpg" target="_blank">
  
  Action director John Woo once said "Jean-Pierre Melville is God to me", and this is, perhaps, one of the strongest facts that can be used with the sole purpose of enlightening the inspirational influence that the crime masterpieces of Melville had in the subsequent decades of crime filmmaking. After a unique and interesting filmography that includes films such as Bob le Flambeur (1956) and Le Doulos (1962), Le Samouraï is one of the most stylish, unforgettable and groundbreaking crime masterworks in the history of cinema. It could also be identified as the first film that had a much more solid substance behind its plot development than any other prior crime film made by the director. John Woo first paid tribute to the film with several references to it with the best action film ever made, Dip Huet Seung Hung (1989), one of the movies that belonged to the Hong Kong genre called "heroic bloodshed". The next director to make a hugely inspired magnum opus was Jim Jarmusch through Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999), starring Forest Whitaker. However, the originality and unparalleled stereotypical brilliance of Le Samouraï did not go completely unnoticed and allowed the director Jean-Pierre Melville to acquire international attention and literal worshipping from both critics and followers of his remarkable work.
  
  Jef Costello is a perfectionist and existentialist hitman who always plans his murders carefully in order to avoid getting caught. One night, however, he is seen shooting the owner of a night club by the club pianist Valerie, a beautiful Afro-American woman, and is arrested. The police make an exhausting investigation led by a highly dedicated Police Inspector and gathers witnesses who could briefly see the assassin that same night, but after he was able to be released because of an alibi that was set up to him, a very unusual and tragic series of events and resulting consequences of romance, action and betrayal await for Costello.
  
  Defying the laws of prior crime filmmaking, we are firstly introduced to what seems to be an empty room with the constant singing of a bird inside a cage. A few seconds later it is revealed that the room is not alone. A man is comfortably and quietly lying down on his bed while smoking a cigar while what seems to be an old quote of the Book of the Samurai is displayed on the screen. Moreover, the film follows him discreetly as if the protagonist was not aware of our omniscient staring, culminating with exactly ten minutes of pure silence until the first dialogue line is spoken. This minimalist perspective towards an existentialist antihero is what makes of Le Samouraï a unique masterpiece within its genre. We are not asked to build empathy towards him. We are not asked to fully understand his motivations and the ultimate carelessness he had during the assassination of the club owner, either. Consequently, we are not asked to support his passionate personality that can love any kind of uneasy woman. Nevertheless, we are challenged to be patient for the first half of the film in order to allow the director to work through the exceptional screenplay that was based on Joan McLeod's novel titled "The Ronin". This, of course, promises a sensationally breathtaking second half, not to mention an endless chase sequence which extraordinary craftsmanship and wonderful use of editing, tension and suspense seem to have directly inspired William Friedkin's take on such sequences in the film The French Connection (1971).
  
  Huge French star Alain Delon, who first became famous in Antonioni's L'Eclisse (1962), impersonates the perfectly kickass professional assassin. This statement does not imply that a massive collection of provocative one-liners were needed. He barely speaks a word. He remains silent most of the times. There is no authority above him. He just takes jobs, obeys the only boss he has (himself) and goes away with the cash. Those are the bases of his lonely existence. No matter how surprisingly random and/or violent are some of the events that surround his job, he never feels nor shocked or surprised. His constant and completely expressionless gestures do not transform him into a flat or boring character; it just causes more layers of mysteriousness to appear. Logically, these are the attractive characteristics that may not cause an empathetic feeling towards the audience, which utterly collide with what seems to be his Achilles' heel: women. The typical line "criminals always return to the place of the crime" is used, referring to Jef Costello. The motive seems to be women, but we are not allowed to fully appreciate and understand his mentality. His decision was to lead a life of such danger.
  
  Melville's direction is very meticulous and that seems to be the main "quality" that Costello suddenly looses one night. The screenplay is not precisely vast, but it is undeniably razor-sharp. A musical score is not needed; we just need atmospheric claustrophobia. We need a believable environment of solitude and unconventional romance for creating complete characters that seem to belong to an underground crime culture, and those elements are precisely the ones that are offered throughout. The performances by Cathy Rosier as the delicate Valerie, Nathalie Delon as the submissive lover and François Perier as the decided superintendant are remarkable and considerably precise. And all of this is deliciously decorated with a man who lives in an almost empty apartment with a little bird as his only companion while constantly stealing any car he wants with the help of a massive key collection and changing the car plates.
  
  Jean-Pierre Melville has directed a wonderful and actually complex essay on solitude and the senselessness of meaningless existentialism. More than being one of the most nostalgic and remembered, not to mention referenced crime films in cinema history, Le Samouraï takes the concept of a cold-blooded and crafty ronin and applies it to a modern French society. The wonderful explosion of discreet sensations and prolonged silences of stillness is, perhaps, the first and most obvious consequence when making such an audacious twist, including a highly intriguing conclusion. Although Melville would try to perfect the technical elements such as the editing, the cinematography and the visual effects, Le Samouraï has the most original substance of style and cinematic talent and, naturally, it is Melville's greatest achievement.
  
  Johnnie To acknowledges it...
  
  100/100

  Share This Review
• 
  
  November 1, 2009

  dipa89

  
  

  Share This Review
• 
  
  October 29, 2009

  alexroy69

  Alain Delon incarne le gangster parfait. Il est froid, détaché, il parle peu, mais il se dégage quand même de son personnage une humanité incompréhensible. Quand on y pense, il n'y a rien pour le rendre attachant, sa personnalité est dépouillée, on ne sait rien de lui, mais bon d...( read more)ieu qu'il est cool.
  
  Ça se peut juste pas comment ce film-là coule bien. C'est compressé, mais d'une bonne façon, avec un art de réalisation épatant. Il n'y a littéralement pas un plan qui ne veuille rien dire, qui n'apporte rien. Chaque geste, chaque parole des personnages a sa place. C'est sobre et stylisé à la fois. Un tour de force.

  Share This Review
• 
  
  October 8, 2009

  allformat

  Following the psyche of a killer going through his profession. This film is a great character study, showing the Samourai in his solitude. Delon plays the role perfectly.

  Share This Review

View more Le Samouraï (The Godson) reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

This board looks lonely. Be the first to talk about "Le Samouraï (The Godson)" !

• Alain Delon
• François Périer
• Nathalie Delon

Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

• 
  Léon (The Professional) (71%)
• 
  Bob le Flambeur (Bob the Gambler) (100%)
• 
  Pistol Opera (20%)
• 
  L'Armée des ombres (Army in the Shadows) (100%)

No facts approved yet. Be the first

No quizzes for Le Samouraï (The Godson). Want to create one?

• 『Le Samouraï 』

• captainsoso
• rojastortu
• Caltiki
• EarthlyAlien
• vertigoo
• Arianeta
• DonMichael
• pier007

No recent headlines. Got one?

• 

  DVD's I own

  by DonMichael
  238 Movies
• 

  Director: Jean-Pierre Melville

  by dipa89
  12 Movies
• 

  My Very Personnal top 100 movie

  by jeanfrancoisno...
  65 Movies
• 

  Movies of the 1960s

  by damoooo
  21 Movies