More importantly... About Melville I will claim that he is quite an artisanal filmmaker, paying attention to aesthetic qualities even while filming outside the studio system on a small budget. Heavily influenced by American B-films, he uses the art of film in a way to investigate the human condition. We watch characters in Melville's films doing things, things that are real life; and, his camera spends the necessary time watching these actions: brushing teeth, getting dressed, practicing breaking into a safe, etc. In a real way, as we will see in a few clips, Melville's cinematography explores environments (and the people who inhabit those spaces).
For further viewing, check out le Samurai, le cercle rouge, and un flic.
To touch on the moods of Bob le Flambeur, I feel the mood of the film changes drastically when Bob's plan to rob the Deauville. From the beginning of the film I felt a sort of sympathy to Bob. He is obviously a well known character in this district of Paris, EVERYONE knows who he is, but his status as a mobster of sorts seems to be dwindling. His luck in gambling is doing everything but winning him money and he just seems desperate to try and win anything. We learn that he did fail at robbing a bank x many years ago and did his time for it. I think my sympathy for him stems from learning about him saving the cop from a gun shot and his protection of Anne from being picked up by pimps. So it seems his only vice nowadays is his gambling problem. But the mood sharply changes when Bob learns of the amounts of money in the at Deauville during Grand Prix weekend. He immediately becomes a sort of head mobster, quickly gathering accomplices, bargaining information from employees of the casino, putting together this sort of master mind plan. Almost like he has been doing this since birth. It's obvious that he has done it before, but I feel that we are led to believe he's been a gangster for a while but after doing his time he is just left with a gambling problem, yet still respected in this vice of a community. So, in terms of mood, I feel the film changes from a sympathetic mood to a more dangerous and more exciting mood.
ReplyDeleteI also want to comment on the point you made about Melville filming things that are real life. The example you gave for practicing breaking into a safe is one I remember from the film and thinking about how this scene works. And to me it was successful in filming, what we would think to be, a very monotonous action by cutting between Bob, Paolo, the guy funding the operation, and the dog all watching Roger in anticipation of how fast he can get the lock open. Those cuts, combined with filming of the sound magnifier (whatever that was) provided a sort of rhythm to help build the suspense. If Melville were just to film this scene in a wide angle showing the whole room with them all sitting there watching, we would get pretty bored.
One more thing: I knew Anne was going to be trouble because it seemed every time she walked into a bedroom, she would begin to undress.
Bob le Flambeur surprised me because it seems so different from the other French New Wave movies we have discussed and viewed. The influence of Hollywood cinema defines many aspects of this film, especially with the emphasis on mood and emotions and the American-style narrative. The film seems to me not so much a part of the French New Wave movement, but a precursor leading up to the style we consider French New Wave. Melville sets the stage for the new wave by things like his edgy, untraditional editing style, his occasional intense focus on some of the more mundane "in-between" action (like practicing opening the lock), and his overall low budget. The overall style and mise-en-scene of the film (obviously influenced by film noir) evokes a feeling of grandeur with all the trendy night lounges and flashy neon lights. In many ways, this atmosphere allows the viewer to completely forget about Melville's low budget. Certainly this ability to create a legitimate and professional film on such a low budget paved the way for many of the future auteurs and proved the possibility of such a task to them.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that really struck me about the film was when it made reference to Bob copying American hoods. The fact that the film specifically pointed out this idea is interesting because in a way, that’s what the majority of the film itself does. The Hollywood film noir and gangster film influence on Bob le Flambeur is so strong, it resembles Bob himself by reflecting this style. It’s also funny that Bob, along with the film itself, seems to almost parody this “American hood” style at the very end. Bob’s personal style and the film’s overall style seem to run parallel to one another.
A final observation: my mind is still hung up on mirrors and reflected images at the moment because of Cleo last week, so it stood out to me when Bob looked in a dirty, grungy mirror and saw his tarnished reflection. In many ways Bob, like Cleo, relies on reflections and the views of others to define his self-image, but unlike Cleo, Bob’s image is much more dirty and worn-down from his earlier days of crime and jail time.
I feel that this film is markedly different than any other French New Wave film, in the sense that it tries in a sucessful way to mimic American cinema. The story, narrative, and film techniques all attempt to suture in the audience and there is very little attempt to remind the audience that its a movie. Melville has a real knack for painting environments (especially cities) with only enough detail to give us the basic idea, but with enough ambiguity to let our minds fill in the rest of the world.
ReplyDeleteWhat made Bob le flambeur so interesting was the lack of progression and emotion in the characters. At the beginning of the film Bob does seem like a nice guy, he saved a cops life and protects a soon to be prostitute from the streets, but as the story moves forward Bob digresses into a criminal. Even at the end of the film Bob shows only momentary remorse for his friend Paulo before he's making jokes with the police chief in the car. Anne, the girl, is curiously apathetic and shows no understanding or emotion for what's going on with Bob or Paulo.
So maybe that's what makes this film so intrigueing, that while the story and cinematics try to bring you close to this world, the characters themselves reveal nothing and keep you at bay. At the end of the mobie it is hard to say you understand Bob's motives or see the world his way, and the goes doubly so for any other character.
Melville does do a terrific job with this movie. He starts it out in a sense were you know very little about the character himself until the movie progresses on. This right here is a very good character builder and plot builder for the movie. He does this with other characters in the movie and it helps add to that environmental feel that comes from the movie. This does not play directly with the cinematography aspect of the film, but it definitely helps you understand the character and his environment as an important aspect that Melville favors. Bob was a big gambler in the movie and was considered a high roller in the film which gives the audience a sense of understanding that during the time, gambling and robbing casinos was becoming a big problem with the common person and the police force themselves; especially in america where B-films were focusing on the the topic of american gangster films. This all adds to the making of Bob's personality and the way he does things as well. You can see that Bob thinks he has the lucky ace hand and can never lose at gambling. Well Melville takes that quality and makes it Bob's flaw in the movie.The thought that robbing the casino would some how work because Bob has that never failing luck on his side is what Melville wants the audience to see. That sort of ego taking control but playing in to the enviroment and feel of the movie as well.
ReplyDelete