Coup de Torchon - Criterion Collection

Rating:
Summary: Strangely beautiful cinema
Review: A strangely beautiful film which works its magic on the viewer from the opening credits of first a black bird, then a sole black African child filling the screen. I was especially taken by the cinematography itself and the use of colour. The mis en scene is almost always a dun or sand or pale brown pastel colour but pierced by small brilliant colours found in such things as a cummerbund, or pocket kerchief, or the singlet of the protagonist or his odd red sock, a green bottle of absinthe in an outside bar, a green light shade at night, or a crimson hat band on soldiers. Added to this is the startlingly effective use of music , a collage of sounds which modify the images rather than compound or complement them providing a tone of tragi-comedy, a kind of comedy noir. There is also a memorable nightmare sequence which the protagonist experiences. As for themes - perhaps that of the scandalous Colonial in another's country, the stranger in a strange land, the decline of the West-
or an ageing Colonial Police Chief searching for the meaning of his life and exacting punishment on those who deserve it, on those that he is able to. The closing moments are quite memorable. Isabelle Huppert reminds one of her rich chameleon talents and is quite brilliant. A marvellous cinematic experience.

Rating:
Summary: Not for all tastes, even Thompson fans
Review: Based on Thompson's book Pop 1280 (brilliant, short, haunting, and like no other book I've ever read), I believe this to be a very failed attempt. But a worthy failure nontheless. Surely worth buying or renting to satisfy one's curiosity (I believe I had to wait over 10 years to finally see it). I think the filmmakers, if working today, would have had the guts to film the book as it was meant to be. A friend once called the story "Barney Fife meets Taxi Driver", which certainly is understandable. I would add Bester's The Stars My Destination to the list. Sound ridiclously impossible? It apparently was to the filmmakers, too. Read the book first and film it in your own mind.

Rating:
Summary: Not for all tastes, even Thompson fans
Review: Based on Thompson's book Pop 1280 (brilliant, short, haunting, and like no other book I've ever read), I believe this to be a very failed attempt. But a worthy failure nontheless. Surely worth buying or renting to satisfy one's curiosity (I believe I had to wait over 10 years to finally see it). I think the filmmakers, if working today, would have had the guts to film the book as it was meant to be. A friend once called the story "Barney Fife meets Taxi Driver", which certainly is understandable. I would add Bester's The Stars My Destination to the list. Sound ridiclously impossible? It apparently was to the filmmakers, too. Read the book first and film it in your own mind.

Rating:
Summary: un-american
Review: I am mainly disappointed with the Yank reviews - did they read Jim Thompson at all? Yeah - the PULP FICTION movie is great for them but not the real "pulp fiction". It would be a surprise if Tavernier did a "Martin Eden" or "Iron Heel" and folks would label it "pulp fiction" as well. How about "Les Miserables", huh ? A pulp fiction ? Let's go on and on...
Get fiction in the wrong hands and you have a disaster right away, say Sir Spielberg, as an example, he's the master of the "hokey", lately.
This film proves the ages old wisdom that good films are made of mediocre novels, like "The Informer", "The Shop on Main Street" etc., while the great script of classical "belles lettres" remain beyond reach of the infantile contemporaries.

Rating:
Summary: un-american
Review: I am mainly disappointed with the Yank reviews - did they read Jim Thompson at all? Yeah - the PULP FICTION movie is great for them but not the real "pulp fiction". It would be a surprise if Tavernier did a "Martin Eden" or "Iron Heel" and folks would label it "pulp fiction" as well. How about "Les Miserables", huh ? A pulp fiction ? Let's go on and on...
Get fiction in the wrong hands and you have a disaster right away, say Sir Spielberg, as an example, he's the master of the "hokey", lately.
This film proves the ages old wisdom that good films are made of mediocre novels, like "The Informer", "The Shop on Main Street" etc., while the great script of classical "belles lettres" remain beyond reach of the infantile contemporaries.

Rating:
Summary: Uneven But Good Night's Viewing
Review: Philippe Noiret generally did an outstanding acting job in all the films I've seen him. This one is no exception. Bertrand Tavernier is also one of my favorite directors. Novelist Jim Thompson wrote great noir dramas. Putting the three of them together was a great idea even though the whole thing was moved to Afica, which none of the three had in their background. Isabelle Huppert, an actress I don't like, is in the film also but she plays someone that is disliked and avoided by her husband (Noiret) too so she was ok here. Noiret plays policeman Lucien Cordier, who is weak and easily corruptible. He has no one's respect. Just as the viewer is about to feel some sympathy towards him, however, he becomes the ultimate bad guy, solely driven by gaining revenge against everyone in his world. The film is almost too successful in that by the end of it I have had it with Noiret's character, his world, Africa and the whole story. I think it overplayed its hand. But most of the way through it is very enjoyable viewing and it is certainly worth an evening's viewing at home.

Rating:
Summary: Uneven But Good Night's Viewing
Review: Philippe Noiret generally did an outstanding acting job in all the films I've seen him. This one is no exception. Bertrand Tavernier is also one of my favorite directors. Novelist Jim Thompson wrote great noir dramas. Putting the three of them together was a great idea even though the whole thing was moved to Afica, which none of the three had in their background. Isabelle Huppert, an actress I don't like, is in the film also but she plays someone that is disliked and avoided by her husband (Noiret) too so she was ok here. Noiret plays policeman Lucien Cordier, who is weak and easily corruptible. He has no one's respect. Just as the viewer is about to feel some sympathy towards him, however, he becomes the ultimate bad guy, solely driven by gaining revenge against everyone in his world. The film is almost too successful in that by the end of it I have had it with Noiret's character, his world, Africa and the whole story. I think it overplayed its hand. But most of the way through it is very enjoyable viewing and it is certainly worth an evening's viewing at home.

Rating:
Summary: understated excellence
Review: This is the best film adaptation of Jim Thompson to date, and a marvellous film beside that fact. Tavernier knows the book throughout but doesn't bow to it; he builds his own movie out of the story filling it with character and nuance. He doesn't cop out like Peckinpah, or try to be too clever - he makes a classic film that works, not because he builds on convention, but because he makes it all his own. The actors, especially Noiret, appear to be thoroughly enjoying the filming and provide us with sly performances that don't knock you over only because they are too subtle for that. Truly a wonderful film, startling in its bursts of violence and in its understated black humor. Pay attention and the rewards will be many.

Rating:
Summary: understated excellence
Review: This is the best film adaptation of Jim Thompson to date, and a marvellous film beside that fact. Tavernier knows the book throughout but doesn't bow to it; he builds his own movie out of the story filling it with character and nuance. He doesn't cop out like Peckinpah, or try to be too clever - he makes a classic film that works, not because he builds on convention, but because he makes it all his own. The actors, especially Noiret, appear to be thoroughly enjoying the filming and provide us with sly performances that don't knock you over only because they are too subtle for that. Truly a wonderful film, startling in its bursts of violence and in its understated black humor. Pay attention and the rewards will be many.

Rating:
Summary: Chilling, Funny Neo-Noir Masterpiece
Review: This is the film version of Jim Thompson's darkly comic novel "Pop. 1280", only transplanted from Texas to French-colonial Africa circa 1938 (around the time of the disgraceful Munich conference sell-out, for obviously symbolic reasons.) Philippe Noiret is the outwardly bumbling, secretly brilliant sheriff who slowly goes insane from the backwardness and brutality of the life he is forced to endure. Isabelle Huppert, in a type of role you wish she would get more, is spirited and sexy as Noiret's accomplice/victim. Like a good femme fatale, she helps trigger the escalating chain reaction of violence. Astonishing film constantly switches back and forth from black comedy to horror; it keeps you guessing and on edge. You could say it's a mixture of Kafka, Beckett, and good old-fashioned American gonzo, with a Gallic accent. Over the years this sly and scarifying movie has become one of my absolute favorites.