Le Samourai (1967) : Melville's visual and stylish classic is a must watch.
Le Samourai (1967) starts out with a silent shot of a man lying in bed smoking, its smoke flowing, the emptiness and darkness of the room only occupied with two windows, the only source of natural light. A bird in a cage chirping, the silence is evident, and we get a quotation “There is no greater solitude than of the samurai, unless it is that of the tiger in the jungle perhaps.”. It is apparently quoted from the book of samurai by Bushido which happens to be fictional created by Jean-Pierre Melville.
The philosophy of the samurai is encapsulated in this story. Jef Costello (played by Alain Delon) is a hitman or killer for hire. We follow him around through the whole film where he is at first hired to kill the owner of a club. The attention to detail is extraordinary as we manoeuvre around Jef. He then gets betrayed by his own hiring and must escape them leaving the rest of the film to this cat and mouse game.
He takes time and gets up gradually ready to leave, the camera follows his movement, he gets ready by wearing his overlong coat, he wears his hat with style and duty, its as if the attire is a uniform (we see this attire throughout the movie and is used in a scene also). This stylishness and visual appeal are what makes this film masterful in its worldbuilding. Melville articulates his shots and brings out a minimalistic approach. There is much silence with less dialogue as the story is told visually.
Synthetic music pops up as we see him arrive at a car and he starts it with a bunch of keys. He drives to an isolated garage, where the mechanic fixes his car and gives him a set of papers and a gun indicating his mission. During all this not a single word is spoken, everything is told visually.
Jef kills the club owner with no emotions, there is no sentimentality to his duty, his face is expressionless, the woman who plays the piano at the club notices his killing, he gets reprimanded by the cops with other suspects who are caught with the identification of there long overcoat and hat. The police have a hunch towards Jef, but he is alibied by two women. His lover and the woman who plays the piano. A previous scene of the conversation between Jef and his lover named Jane expresses some humane characteristics in this world. The musician knows that Jef killed the owner but doesn’t tell the cops. This creates a mysterious subplot that becomes intriguing as the film progresses. The Woman are a juxtaposition to Jef’s character, they show emotions and admiration, like when the commissioner interrogates Jane at her bedroom, he manipulates with precision to confess about her lover, but she never succumbs. Its these small, interesting characters that Melville creates to enhance his ruthless world.
The cinematography by Henri Decaë who was strongly part of the French New Wave, introduces a stunning demonstration of minimal lighting with both natural and artificial. I could immediately recognise many of David Fincher’s style or aesthetics with respect to scenes here like how only one or two lamps are lit in a room or light only passing from the windows.
Melville creates a character that uses only action to progress the film and define his character. The dead pan face of Alain Delon makes the character with endurance of a samurai. Embellishing in the world of these killers. A scene where he is getting defied by his own hirings plays out with only action, the betrayal doesn’t affect his face. He is stout as a statue. The sequence of scenes undergrounds the station where he is being followed by his betrayers and the cops is meticulously done and is an inspiration to many who have tried the same formula.
Jean-Pierre Melville is regarded as the “Father” of the French New Wave. He made independent films that became successful and created a blend of classical American noir and European Sensibilities. His style garnered him much praise and is regarded as one of the best directors. Even Godard featured Melville in his film breathless. His influence is of many and the style to crime noir was groundbreaking. He adopted the name “Melville” from his favourite author Herman Melville. The influence of his work can also be attributed to his times during War World II where he was in service for the French Resistance. It was a difficult time on him which made him tough as nails, this silence and toughness can be seen reflected in Melville’s protagonists.
Le Samourai is a visually intricate piece of cinema. Taking the tropes of the American noir and making a film that leaves off the artificial and drains down the colours to only the bleakness of grey and black, to create a world with minimalism and detailing. It’s a work that is individualistic and masterful.