French Connection II.

Review #2490: French Connection II.

Cast: 

Gene Hackman (NYPD Detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle), Fernando Rey (Alain "Frog One" Charnier), Bernard Fresson (Inspector Henri Barthélémy), Philippe Léotard (Jacques), Ed Lauter (General William Brian), Charles Millot (Miletto), Jean-Pierre Castaldi (Raoul Diron), Cathleen Nesbitt (Old Lady), and André Penvern (André) Directed by John Frankenheimer (#559 - Grand Prix, #985 - The Manchurian Candidate)

Review:

"I like the script, I like the characters, I like the Hackman character in France and not speaking a word of French. It's a very difficult film because we want in no way to rip off the first one, which is one of the best films I've ever seen. I want to make a movie that stands on its own as a movie"

Sure, why not do a sequel to The French Connection (1971)? To reiterate, the film took influence in atmosphere and style from films such as Le Samouraï (1967) and Z (1969). You probably remember that the film had a handful of characters based on real-life people in terms of distribution of heroin, which was turned into books such, as, well, The French Connection in 1969 (as written by Robin Moore) that detailed Eddie Egan and Sonny Grosso trying to figure out the drug ring (oddly enough, there was another film based on the exploits of Egan in Badge 373 [1973], with Robert Duvall as the star). One of those people was based on Jean Jehan, who really never did get extradited from France and apparently did die peacefully in old age. But hey, screw reality, right? Sometimes you really want to make some money and sometimes audiences will want to watch a sequel that gives you more of what you think you want, so screw it, French Connection II, complete with only Hackman and Rey returning from the first film. Friedkin had no interest in doing the second film and apparently never watched it. The story was written by Robert and Laurie Dillon, who worked on the screenplay with Alexander Jacobs (in his penultimate film credit as a writer), although apparently Pete Hamill provided an uncredited remake for nearly all of the dialogue shortly before production started (apparently Hackman had "nothing to act" with the lack of Roy Scheider in the cast*). John Frankenheimer signed on to direct the movie because he wanted to do a movie that audiences would see. Made on a budget of over $4 million, the movie made nearly three times its budget back (for comparison, the first film made over $70 million).

Admittedly, a movie that features the lead character getting addicted to heroin - he gets kidnapped about 40 minutes into the film, gets injected with heroin not long after, gets dumped back to the cops and eventually gets through the cold turkey treatment by about the 80-minute mark so he can torch a place (and call the cops and no I'm not joking about any of that). It surely is a curious one. Doyle isn't nearly as abrasive as he was in the first film because this time around, he spends more time trying to understand (miserably) the French people around him in one of those "fish out of water" scenarios. Hackman was appreciative for the role of Doyle but he also went on record for stating he never actually re-watched the first film after 1971. He is still pretty offbeat and still pretty entertaining in that certain type of gritty rage that could only come from someone like Hackman. He just has the knack in making a guy like Doyle seem more than just a blowhard or one that could vanish into thin air in the action. Fresson makes for a quality counterpart in capturing the restrained nature of authority that probably fares best in the sequences when having to confront Hackman trying to go cold turkey. Rey is the same type of elusive presence as before, mainly because he doesn't really have to do much besides slide in and slide out of the background that is mostly convincing in nebulous drug dealing*. Regardless of its fictional nature in following up such a hard-nosed first film, there is a worthy sense of danger and entertainment that comes through for engagement that at least makes you care about most of the 119-minute runtime, even with the amusement that arises in straight up fading to black right after the pivotal moment of the whole thing. You get a nice foot chase and even a burning building sequence to see havoc, some sequels don't even try to give you that even when they aspire to top the original. As a whole, French Connection II doesn't do anything particularly great when compared to the long shadow cast by the first film, but it is a solid enough film in its general execution of thrills to go along with enough from Hackman and company to make the trip at least seem like one worth going through once. 

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

*Hackman and Rey had interesting paths to being cast in the first film, by the way. Rey was cast because Friedkin had wanted the small performance of a Spanish actor that had been in Belle de Jour (1967)...which was Francisco Rabal. Hackman on the other hand came about because they couldn't get the people Hackman or the studio envisioned for Doyle: Paul Newman, Jackie Gleason, Peter Boyle, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Lee Marvin, James Caan, Robert Mitchum, Rod Taylor, and...Jimmy Breslin!

*Hey, fuck drugs. Sure, you can try weed, but in general, well, fuck heroin. Hell, cigarettes give you cancer, fuck them too. Don't even get me started on alcohol or vaping.

Z (1969).

Review #1966: Z.

Cast: 

Yves Montand (The Deputy), Irene Papas (Hélène), Jean-Louis Trintignant (The Examining Magistrate), François Périer (Public prosecutor), Jacques Perrin (Photojournalist), Charles Denner (Manuel), Pierre Dux (The General), Georges Géret (Nick), Bernard Fresson (Matt), Marcel Bozzuffi (Vago), Julien Guiomar (The Colonel), Magali Noël (Nick's Sister), and Renato Salvatori (Yago) Directed by Costa-Gavras.

Review: 

"Politics. They always want to talk to me about politics. But for me politics is everyday life, the way we deal with other people and the way they deal with us. In a certain way, I can say all movies are political. But there's another thing about politics—power. A director has power over other people. And above me, there are people who have power over me. Politics is how we use that power, to be kind or aggressive, and how other people do the same with us."

There are various directors of political and social quality to note, with Costa-Gavras being a key force in that aspect for world cinema. He was born Konstantinos Gavras in 1933 in Loutra Iraias, Arcadia, Greece. His father served in the Greek Resistance against the Nazis in World War II, but his backing of the Communists within the National Liberation Front later caused his son to not be allowed to study in Greek universities when civil war in the country broke out. As such, Costa-Gavras moved to France after turning 18. He studied literature at the University of Paris and was planning to study law before deciding to study film at Institut des hautes études cinématographiques (IDHEC) in 1956. He soon served as an assistant director for people such as Rene Clair (who he cited as saying that everything for a director happens in the editing room) or René Clément (who he cited as teaching him the biggest lesson in technique) during this time. The Sleeping Car Murders (1965) was the debut feature film for Costa-Gavras, which was a mystery film. It was followed by Shock Troops (1967), an action-drama movie about French resistance fighters. Z (1969) was his breakthrough film. Overall, he has directed numerous movies in a career that has spanned a half-century, primarily spending his time directing French productions (with a few English exceptions and his one Greek production in 2019), such as Missing, released in 1982 that adapted a book covering the disappearance of American journalist Charles Horman in the 1973 Chilean coup d'état, or with Music Box, released in 1989 about war crime charges, and others such as Amen., released in 2002 that talked about the relationship of the Vatican and Nazi Germany in World War II. On May 22, 1963, anti-war activist and Greek politican Grigoris Lambrakis was struck by two far-right extremists driving in a three-wheeled vehicle after having done a public speech. He died five days later, sparking a wide demonstration and investigation, headed by investigator Christos Sartzetakis. The investigation saw plenty of connections revealed of the police and army to extremists, but the murderers got off due to the favoring of the state. As such, the movie is based on the 1967 novel of the same name (based on the first letter of the Greek word Zi, meaning "he lives!") by Vassilis Vassilikos that detailed the events that followed the death of Lambrakis. Sartzetakis was a Greek writer and journalist who had been sent into exile from his native Greece following the coup of 1967, which saw the military junta take over the country. The screenplay was written by Jorge Semprún and Costa-Gavras. The film was shot mostly in Algeria while being shot mostly in the French language with a bit of Russian and English involved without identifying the country of setting, complete with a disclaimer that says the resemblances between the movie and actual events are entirely on purpose with no coincidences.

It is evident to note the influence the film had on many filmmakers: Oliver Stone mentions the film often as an influence on his filmmaking. Steven Soderbergh wanted Traffic (2000) to capture "that great feeling of things that are caught, instead of staged, which is what we were after." William Friedkin figured out how to shoot The French Connection (1971) by watching this film, which he felt was shot like a documentary. Simply put, it clearly had an effective power on those who watched the film. This is the kind of movie that introduces you to people high in power that want equate their political opponents as "mildew of the mind". It is a political thriller that grips your imagination and never lets go for 127 minutes, finding plenty to say about just how far justice can lead when power lurks beneath the surface. Whether one goes into the movie knowing anything about European politics or not, the important thing to remember is to go into things with a clear head. Greece would not have democracy until 1974, but it doesn't diminish the overall importance of a movie that is essentially a primal scream for sanity, one where its ending will stay with you for quite some time. Life may be followed by death, but that doesn't mean that law is necessarily followed by order. There is no one actor that dominates the film in terms of screentime, but Montand obviously makes the key impression needed as a pillar of would-be hope, which proves tactful in setting up a moment of history (as one might put it) that has human vitality. Papas is the only Greek actor in the cast, but her expression in the face of despondency is all one needs. Trintignant sears through with inquisitive definition that is probably the most clinical charming role of the film, or at least right next to Perrin and his restless energy that pops in now and then. Again, the movie isn't really about one defining performance but instead an organic mix of actors that are each distinct in their own little roles and requirements, such as the adversarial Dux or the hired guns in Bozzuffi and Salvatori that seem completely convincing to what is needed. Costa-Gavras and his crew, such as cinematographer Raoul Coutard and his editor Françoise Bonnot managed to create a great thriller that never seems crafted in artifice or pretentiousness, always having a grip on one's attention wherever it goes in the chase for facts and some sort of reason in a possibly reasonless world. The movie speaks truth to power in the inevitability that comes with unchecked ideology. Its cry for vision that does not vanish regardless of who dies for it makes it one for the ages in enduring passion, one with a bitter ending perfect for the moment that does not erase it as worthwhile entertainment for information. Costa-Gavras crafted a worthy political feature with plenty of interest to spark for all curious in terms of history and beyond that makes for quality truth in film with great execution.

Overall, I give it 10 out of 10 stars.

I hope you folks enjoyed the second edition of New Directors Month in January. I hope you enjoyed the attempt at trying to include as many American and world cinema movies as possible, which saw countries like Iran, North Korea, and Algeria be featured for the first time. There were a handful of finalists in films & new directors in the 18-review month that missed the cut, some of which were the following: Goin' to Town [Alexander Hall], New Women [Cai Chusheng], Berlin: Symphony of a Metropolis [Walter Ruttmann], I Am Cuba [Mikhail Kalatozov], Possessor [Brandon Cronenberg], and Don Jon [Joseph Gordon-Levitt]. There may yet be a place to spotlight these films this year or whenever it seems appropriate. As always, suggestions are welcome.

Now, onto Black History Month.