Le Cercle Rouge (1970)

Jean-Pierre Meville's 1970 film <i>Le Cercle rouge</i> (The Red Circle) is a crime caper based on the interplay of several initially unacquainted individuals. As Melville's fake quote from the Buddha that serves as the intertitle goes, "When men, even unknowingly, are to meet one day, whatever may befall each, whatever the diverging paths, on the said day, they will inevitably come together in the red circle." These men are Corey (Alain Delon), who has just been released from prison, Vogel (Gian Maria Volonté), who has escaped from his police guard before he could even reach prison, and the alcoholic marksman Jansen (Yves Montand). In the jewelry heist that these desparate lowlifes plan together, they are pursued by the detective Mattei (André Bourvil).

Meville's pacing is extremely slow – it has to be in order to ensure that the audience understands the complex relationships of who knows who – and suffice it to say, people who don't already like mid-century French auteur films may find this intolerable. However, if you are a fan of the French New Wave, you may find Meville's ability to sustain suspense a delicious torture. This viewer was on the edge of his seat the whole time waiting to find out what would happen next. Melville's visual aesthetic is also consistently attractive: muted colours, careful shots of the characters faces at a couple of key moments, and a striking constrast between the quiet world of these criminals and the bustle of everyday Paris.

I must admit that I was prepared for some disappointment, as this was Meville's third film of criminal conspiracy in three years (preceded by the hitman drama <i>Le Samouraï</i> and the French Resistance saga <i>L'Armée des ombres</i>). However, in spite of Meville's continued interest in the genre, <i>Le Cercle rouge</i> offers something fresh and individual. There are a couple of intertextual looks back to <i>Le Samouraï</i> in the sets, but Meville shows how talented his favourite actors were by having a couple of good guys in that film play baddies in this one and vice versa.

All in all, this is not a must-see, life-changing film, but certainly a classic film that has stood the test of time and well worth seeing.

Though it takes quite a while to get going, and I constantly wanted to rub that annoying moustache from the face of Alain Delon ("Corey") I really rather enjoyed this crime caper. Delon recruits the dapper ex-cop with a drink problem - "Jansen" (Yves Montand), and the recently escaped "Vogel" (Gian Maria Volontè) into his plan to rob an exclusive Parisian jewellers. Situated on the top floor of a town house with state of the art security, they must recce the scene and use all of their initiative and ingenuity to crack the systems and pinch - and dispose of - $20 million worth of loot. Simultaneously, a couple of hoodlums are chasing "Corey" after he relieved his former boss of some cash, and the police - led by accomplished copper "Mattei" (André Bourvil) are on the hunt for "Vogel". I can't say the acting set the thing on fire for me, it is certainly "cool" but you can over-do that, and at times these three men are pretty devoid of much depth to their characters. I could also have been doing with more going on in the first hour; the plot establishment all takes too long - but once Jean-Pierre Melville gets his ducks in a row and the film has a clearer focus, then the pace picks up nicely and there is quite a decent degree of tension peppered with the odd bit of dark humour. Not mad keen on the ending, but hey - that'd be telling.