The first half of the journey may concentrate more on physical
abilities, like whether you are a great stunt driver or you have the nerves or
not. Yet, it is the second half which you start to smell dread. Well, you are
not travelling up steeper slopes or narrower passages, yet now the force of
nature is arm-wrestling with your mental power! Not only you have to match wits
and come up with intelligent solutions, you also have to take on the mental
stresses. This is the part you will make mistakes that make you regret for
long, and there are loads of absurd situations and moral dilemmas for you to
swallow.
After the two trucks miraculously (!) survived the
'washboard', there was something big waiting for them on the way - a large
boulder. Since it was blocking the way, so you either had to move it away,
which would likely take a million years, or you somehow 'got over it'. The
group decided to release, carefully, a small amount of the nitroglycerin in the
jerry cans, and used the explosive liquid to blow up the large rock. No cheesy
'exciting' music, no Bayhem-style fast cuts, just old-school suspense here. The
men focused on their ordeal, realizing that one small mistake could let the
whole situation go out of hand. And, like any agonizing students after an exam,
after everything was in place they realized the flying pieces of rocks from the
explosion might just forcefully land on their ready-to-explode trucks. But it
was too late, right? After minutes of hard work, they successfully blasted out
the rock, and for Bimba and Luigi, who has contributed a lot to this, were both
proud of their achievements, and they continued their journey.
 |
| The detonation of the giant boulder. |
Have we learnt from Sisyphus?
Yet, in probably one of the film's most surprising moments,
Bimba and Luigi's truck exploded for NO reasons! This is probably the most
painful scene experienced by the audience, as this downfall is truly
heart-breaking. Who has not experienced this before? Just when you feel you
have given your best shot, someone gives you a b-slap, stating 'That's
nothing!'
 |
| The death of Bimba and Luigi - the explosion of the first truck. |
The explosion is a big F-U to the efforts that Bimba and
Luigi have been so proud of. Worse still, Bimba and Luigi were the two
characters Clouzot has portrayed positively throughout the film. Who would not
want to see Jo the bully's ass getting kicked by others? This has come to a
question of what it means to have self-esteem. Too often, even if you have
failed or have lost, you will still be proud of yourself because you know you
have given your best shot, and you have done what you truly believe in. What is
more painful, is that you have tried your best and achieved something, but it
is not recognized by others, or worse, ridiculed by others. This may be a flaw
of the human mind, yet as in the teachings of Existentialism, we have to be
ready to face the absurdity of life, which is what the great writer and philosopher
Albert Camus has always told us.
Falling off from the top of the world of course reminds us of
Camus' 'The Myth of Sisyphus', which was his stunning characterization of human
existence. I have already mentioned Sisyphus' rock-pushing ordeal in a number
of occasions before, like in the articles for Kihachi Okamoto's 'The Sword of
Doom' and Hiroshi Teshigahara's 'Woman in the Dunes'. Life, to Camus and his
followers, is a 'Sisyphean struggle'. It may not have any rational meanings behind
that, as it is abound with absurdities of all proportions. Why a rock hit your
head when you have just won? That's no point to ask for a rationalization, as
the futile attempts to tie up contradictions will just lead to another bout of
depression. Rather than entangling
oneself with these unsolvable mysteries and going in futile circular paths, one
should learn to step out and accept the absurdity of life. It is only through a
change in attitude that will crack the problem, and lead to a constructive
outlook of life. Unnecessary rationalization of absurd situations, to me, is
sort of a defensive mechanism to avoid further dread. It is as if you are
sweetening a bitter medicine, which is the painful truths of life, making them
easier to swallow. The catch in the film is, there is absolutely no point to
rationalize Bimba and Luigi's demise. If you know that this very question is a
pointless one, then you understand the message of the film. And indeed that is
what makes Clouzot a great guy. He knows that he will be cursed by those
feel-good movie fans, but that doesn't bother him - he has to tell the awful
truth. He is a doctor who does not prescribe candies to help us, he gives the
bitter medicine, to heal our spiritual sickness...
 |
| The oil pool. |
Being... and Nothingness
The big explosion was only a grand prelude to
what would follow - the large pool of viscous oil that would further block the
movement of the truck. Honestly, with an almost insurmountable physical
barrier, Mario and Jo had every reason to chicken out. Yet, would their egos
let them run away? This was the part where the characters have to confront moral
dilemmas, where the ends would not meet. With both determined to continue,
Mario made a careless mistake and rolled over the navigating Jo when the truck
stumbled through the black pool.
 |
| The lethal blow to Jo. |
Mario succeeded eventually, yet it was not a proud victory, it
was one with a body count. The dying Jo, lying beside Mario, in the film's most
iconic image, fought for every single breath he could still gather at the final
moments of his existence.Yet it was the next dialogue that topped the bill of
distress. Jo asked Mario again about a shop, which had a fence he never could
see past, and he wondered what was in there, in his dying thoughts.
MARIO: There was nothing there, but an empty lot.
JO: I remember now… there was nothing! (and dies)
 |
| The death of Jo, after being shocked by the bleakest truth of life. |
Possibly the most nihilistic quote of the film, the dialogue
exposes the bleakest truth of human nature. What we have all done, what we have
all fought for, can just be so insignificant to the universe. Put simply, it
just amounts to nothing. It is that 'nothingless' that has killed Bimba and
Luigi moments before. It is a darkly inspiring view that humbles all of us, to
really make us consider about our own positions in the universe.
The Fall
At the end of the day, Mario, with Jo's corpse, arrived at
the site safely. Mario knew that it was over, as the burden was lifted already,
and he has won. Not so fast - as there was still one last round - the round he confronted his own weakness.
It was only when he knew that there was no more nitroglycerin to torch him, his
'happy-go-lucky' persona came back. It was then, a careless turn, that made his
truck fall off the cliff. No matter whether you see Mario as a hero or not, you
will certainly feel sad for him, yet I feel this is the perfect conclusion to a
bleak story like this (some may disagree). It is as if fate is cracking a
'cosmic joke' on Mario, and makes him die at the most surprising moment.
 |
| GAME OVER. |
No one wants Mario to meet his end in this way, as he is the
only one who deserves to win in this game. He had the physical abilities to
control the truck through the most difficult pathways humans would have likely
to travel on, and he was the only one who was able to keep his cool when
encountering sluggish, stressful and absurd conditions. He had the mental power
and courage to take the stressful situations, and he had the will to fight to
the end.
Mario's case should be seen as a textbook example of how to
achieve. Yet he cannot, because he is not able to keep this spirit to the very
end. Even the smallest oblivious error at the most unlikely moment can cause
you everything, all the efforts you have put into your task. Clouzot's dark
ending is one that will leave a lasting impression in many, as it simply cries
out the truth of human life.
Final Words
That's the end now, and you don't need to look out for any
more danger. The question is, are you ready for the ride of your life?
-END-
(3/3)
by Ed Law
19/9/2015
Film Analysis - 56
