Touchez pas au grisbi (Jacques Becker, 1954) Jean Gabin, René Dary, Dora Doll, Jeanne Moreau
An aging, world-weary gangster is double-crossed and forced out of retirement when his best friend is kidnapped and their stash of eight stolen gold bars demanded as ransom.
Roger Ebert:
Jacques Becker (1906-1960) was not the flashiest of French filmmakers; he had a way of dealing directly with his material. In this film there are no fancy shots. Almost everything is seen at eye level, point of view is respected, and the style shrinks from calling attention to itself. Becker's directness and simplicity inspired the affection of younger directors like Francois Truffaut. "He invented his own tempo," Truffaut wrote after he died. "He loved fast cars and long meals; he shot two-hour films on subjects that really needed only 15 minutes. ... He was scrupulous and reflective and infinitely delicate. He loved to make detailed films about ordinary things..." ...
Gabin himself was almost 50 when he made the film. There's not a trace of vanity in his performance. Having played the escaped prisoner in Renoir's Grand Illusion and the dashing criminal in Pepe Le Moko, he grew up to play grown-ups. Becker probably met Gabin on one of Renoir's sets; he was the assistant to the great filmmaker in the 1930s, on Grand Illusion, Rules of the Game and many other films. His own work includes two titles often ranked with Touchez Pas au Grisbi — Le Trou (1960), about prisoners laboriously trying to escape, and Casque d'Or (1952), with a star-making role for Simone Signoret in a story of love and betrayal during the 1890s.
Garry Gillard | reviews | New: 7 February, 2024 | Now: 7 February, 2024