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Must See Movie...

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

This was number 84 out of the 95 films that Jean Gabin appeared in over his long career. He still had both The Sicilian Clan and Le Chat ahead of him, with Le Chat being superior to both this entry and The Sicilian Clan but nevertheless this is a half-decent heist movie which has Gabin's flic, Inspector Joss, out to avenge a colleague whom, it turns out, was on the pad anyway. There's a nice line in ruthless heavies in the quaintly named Quinquin (pronounced Can Can) and a couple of good set-piece heists which crank up the interest and though it lacks both the Class and Style of Gabin's come-back movie Touchez-pas au grisbi it's far from chopped liver.

Except from the opening prologue at the graveyard, Le Pacha starts as a fine crime movie. The robbery is great, and another high point is the scene where Nathalie (Dany Carrel) meets Quinquin (André Pousse) at the 'JNS 3' shop. Then the movie stops being interesting, the whole plot is just let go to reach the agreed upon conclusion. Either they felt too tired after writing the first part or they had to compromise henceforth.Gabin benefits from Audiard's dialog, but he is definitely not the main asset hereI agree with a previous reviewer that Gabin does bog down the global rhythm, he just hams it as he did most of the time in the later decade of his career, playing the tough intractable patriarch. This really makes a boring character that prevents the script from being more clever. Gabin actually demanded that the script be tailored to suit his own image of The Patriarch of French Cinema, and it painfully shows here in contrast with such an interesting, if very violent, first half. Just remember that Gabin had declined to play the lead in Les Tontons Flingueurs, otherwise we would not have had that masterpiece of French comedy.SPOILERS thereafter: the 65min markIMO Le Pacha goes down the drain when Nathalie goes to meet Quinquin at his house. OK she wanted a personal revenge, but she was an interesting character who was cheaply gotten rid of for the sake of a script that is then just dull till the end. Now I understand Gabin would have been reluctant to share more screen time with her, but I really feel the key to a better final act lies with a more clever part for Dany Carrel. It's all too obvious since the movie is just 80min long and we've got this rushed, linear, uninteresting telegraphed ending after the 65min mark. The movie could have been 10min longer and way better... were it not for Mr Gabin almighty star power.

It's probably the movie I have the most seen in my entire life. The first time was in 1972, a Sunday evening, on the first channel. I was only nine years old, and was astonished at this time. Since then, I have never missed any of the airing of this french masterpiece. First, the armored truck heist of the beginning, somewhere in the north of France countryside, with the Serge Gainsbourg soundtrack (Requiem pour un con)is absolutely terrific. I consider it as the most outstanding armored truck attack of the whole crime movie industry. And I am a specialist for this kind of topic - see my other comments. I guess many other film makers were inspired by this sequence. Olivuer Marchall, for 36, Quai des Orfèvres, confessed he was. And Andre Pousse, as Quinquin, the ruthless killer, is also here brilliant at the most. I say he gives in this feature his best performance ever. Unforgettable. When he kills Dany Carrel, It's so good, because you don't expect this. Or this other scene, just after he has killed on of his accomplices with his wife, he quietly checks the horse race tickets while looking for the results on the TV. And concerning one point which has not been told about by the other users, is the police settings. We see a very modern police headquarters, with computers, and the film was made in 1968...Even three decades later, the Quai des Orfèvres - the actual french police headquarters - so know all around the world - was not like this. So nothing is really realistic in this film. Nothing to do with the new french crime movies à la Olivier Marchall. I won't talk about the Alpine Renault used by the police officer, with Jean Gabin sitting in it !!!Yes folks, this is a must see film for those who have missed it.

The movie is an unanticipated gem! I was expecting something of a hybrid between A. Delon's "Un Flic" and "Le Samouraï", but this one is fast paced and stylish. I enjoyed the inserts with "hippies" dancing and The Serge cameo, both lending some documentary feel to the movie. It is also one for a fan of coolest mid-century period, with characters carved out of the 40ies b&w gangster movies. Gabin's character is funny, policemen are efficient and gangsters dull-n-dumb: feels good. Music is an added bonus, especially if you pay attention to the words of the song that Serge sings: nice refrain to the plot. In short, great contemporary mix, very entertaining and a bit touching.