The Wages of Fear (1953)

It’s always my honour to write the first review for a film, especially ones like this. It, however, upsets me that not many have seen this magnificent and harrowing masterpiece.

Four men are stranded in, quite literally, a dead end town with no money to get out. All they do each day is kill time, drink and get gradually more disillusioned. Then their luck changes. Or does it? A major fire breaks out at a nearby oil drilling facility and the manager needs a brave/foolhardy gang to drive two truckloads of ultra-sensitive nitro-glycerin along some poorly maintained roads and across some treacherous terrain to the site so they can extinguish the fires. It's a pretty international convoy that sets off with their two travelling time bombs safe in the knowledge that the slightest vibration could blow them all to kingdom come. Of course, the sweltering heat and their fraying nerves all contribute to what now ensues - an almost perfectly paced drama that gradually raises the tension so that we almost share their perilous journey with them. "Mario" (Yves Montant) is a non-nonsense Corsican who pairs with,"Jo" (Charles Vanel) who is a bit of French thuggery. Luigi (Folco Lulli) just wants to get on with the job and he drives with the slightly enigmatic German "Bimba" (Peter van Eyck). There's not really another world for this film, despite it being filmed outdoors, in dense jungle. It's claustrophobic. Their world is reduced to two tiny cabs with danger around every corner, insects that would cheerily suck their blood and all for $2,000 each! The journey affects their characters too - the brash and confident "Jo" gradually succumbing to his fears whilst his partner steps up - and an inter-dependency of sorts develops that does rather surprise. Henri-George Clouzot creates a film here that really does have you caring for these men in the end - even if, at the start, you have little interest in or sympathy for them. He manages to convey to an audience the absolute sense of anguish and the sheer determination of these men as tragedy ensues and their priorities and perspectives take a jolt that would readily set off their cargo. I thought Vanel probably has the best character to portray here, but the increasingly effective dynamic with Montand works really well to create a must-see tale of survival.