戰國英豪

黑澤明的'七俠四義', 不知啟發了後世多少的冒險電影。其實他的另一部作品, 亦同具特殊地位 - 因為那部電影啟發了'星球大戰'系列 (Star Wars)。 那, 就是'戰國英豪'了!

'戰國英豪'可謂黑澤明最具娱樂性的電影之一。 在趣味盎然的同時, 亦流露着黑澤明一向重視的人文主義。  相對於今天泛濫的娛樂電影來說 (Bayhem危害健康!), '戰國英豪'在驚險的同時亦頗有深度!

在日本戰國時代, 兩位農民太平和又七, 被即將滅亡的幕府秋月家所招攬。 原來, 秋月家的忠臣真壁將軍(三船敏郎飾)聯合公主雪姬(上原美佐飾), 企圖把一批黄金運走, 以作救國之用。 為了隱藏身份, 雪姬必須全程裝啞。 誤打誤撞之下, 太平和又七逼着與真壁和雪姬合作, 不過他們又難擋萬貫家財的誘惑, 數次試圖偷走黄金。 這個'黃金組合', 最終能夠完成任務嗎?

'戰國英豪'可算是黑澤明最為簡單直接的作品之一, 根本不需以任何繁複的理論去解說! 不過, 本片亦對後世的冒險電影帶來深遠的影響。 '戰國英豪'的情節十分像'七俠四義', 都是一個 men on mission 形式的故事 (這次多了一位女仕)。 當然, '七俠四義'更像是一部史詩式電影, 背後藴含了更深的人生哲理, 是一部足以名留後世的經典! 而'戰國英豪'的情節直截了當, 劇情流暢而富動感,  基本上成為了後世眾多商業及high concept電影的楷模。 縱然如此, '戰國英豪'可以歷久不衰, 其實是和片中彰顯的人文關懷有關。

雪姬沒有公主病

本片較為特別的地方, 就是從兩名蟻民的角度去觀看故事的發展。 '戰國英豪'異於一些傳統英雄救美式的電影, 轉而講述兩位低下的農民, 如何間接地協助真壁和雪姬去完成復國的任務。 縱使George Lucas的星球大戰裏的情節看似類近, 但C-3PO和R2D2兩個角色, 其實只屬配角角色, 與Jar Jar Binks之流無異! 反而, '星球大戰'裏師徒關係的命題, 才是真正源自黑澤明電影。 另外, 很多人批評黑澤明電影重男輕女, 這其實不算是一個公道的評論。 片中的公主雪姬個性獨立而且有主見, 鞭法如神之餘又奮勇地和真壁合作, 欲成復興家室的重任。 雪姬這個角色, 當然就是Princess Leia的藍本。 在五十年代這個仍未重視男女平等的時期, 這個角色已為電影藝術展現一剎曙光! 

片中突顯人文關懷的一幕, 是當真壁向雪姬報告自己的妹妹為國犧牲時, 雪姬顯得十分躁動。 她訓斥真壁怎可以犧牲年幼的妹妹, 又說不想看見真壁那副忠義相, 質問他怎麼不為這件事流一滴眼淚。 公主的力量, 不在於她的高尚地位, 而是在於她的道德情操, 懂得關懷他人和存有悲天憫人之心。 真壁並没有責怪雪姬, 因為他心中明白到雪姬所承受的沉重壓力。 她要孑然一身, 承擔為秋月國復興的重任, 只有獨自一人時, 才能流下眼淚, 抒發情感。真壁相信忠義, 知道要為秋月報以忠誠, 所以便要掩飾自己失去妹妹的悲痛。 黑澤明毫無掩飾地顯現了人性問題中的矛盾, 突出了這兩個角色的高尚道德。

在'戰國英豪'裏, 黑澤明幽默地嘲諷了人性的陰暗面。 太平和又七, 算是可愛的小角色。 他們行徑詼諧, 又喜歡'互串', 不過看來有一共同目的, 就是'一心愛金'。 他們是一些無道德(amoral)的人物, 這令我想起了Robert Aldrich的Vera Cruz裏面, 每一個角色(包括'比較正義'的Gary Cooper)為了那箱黃金, 都各懷鬼胎。 當然, Aldrich的風格是更為灰暗! 在冒陰的過程中, 太平和又七從真壁身上學到忠誠的重要性。 真壁信奉武士道精神, 明白忠義遠比一夜致富的淺見更為重要。 畢竟, 懂得尊重戰友, 懂得忠誠, 其實是一件迷人的事。 黑澤明以輕鬆幽默的手法, 就把這簡單的道理傳達世人。

要領略娛樂和深度並存之道, 那, 請先看黑澤明的'戰國英豪'!

by Ed Law

20/9/2015

以戲服人 Film Analysis - 57

The Wages of Fear, Part 3

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

The Wages of Fear, Part 2

The Wages of Fear is no popcorn film. It is a thriller for which when you turn around a corner after a sweaty struggle, you get a new insight about human nature. This black-and-white film is indeed a piece of gem, if you are willing to understand its context in an Existentialist perspective, which focuses on the question, ‘What is the meaning of one’s existence?’

We all come to this world alone. Culture may bind us together somehow, yet when it comes to the questions of being, and thus the meaning of life, no one can help you to confront this responsibility. It is you who have to answer the question yourself, and to find out your own, unique response. As Sartre has famously put it, ‘Hell is other people’. Others may help you or inspire you to find the ultimate answer, but you have to have the courage to stand up to the absurdity so inherent in human nature. In ‘The Wages of Fear’, all the 4 males had very their unique characters, and these differences led to tension and eventually conflicts throughout the perilous journey. Yet the ultimate nemesis was not each other – that was their own fear, the questions of life that they were pushed to answer. They might be sitting next to each other on the trucks, yet they all had to confront their very own fear, as a bunch of lone warriors. When it comes to the case of existence, it is individual action that counts. Jo certainly appreciated this in a shallow way. He was smart enough to believe that, in the game of life, one had to pretend to be tough, to at least give an edge to himself when in conflict with others. It might be true, yet when the battle was against the strong clutches of nature, that was the first time he experienced real fear, and the infidelity in his psyche.

The arrangement of putting the 2 strong guys (Mario and Jo) and the 2 more mellow guys (Bimba and Luigi) in different trucks, I suppose, was deliberate by Clouzot. Since he did not want any sort of ‘balancing effect’ in here, which would lead to 2 active / reactive pairs and thus diminished the tension in each compartments. Another great aspect of the film is, the suspense certainly grounds on anticipation. Just when you show a sign of relief when one obstacle has been cleared, another is waiting for you around the corner! Yet what is great, as far as the audience is concerned, is that each corner pops out a new humanistic insight.

The various challenges in ‘The Wages of Fear’ may sound ludicrous, yet the implications behind all these bumps and jolts are more than mere pass-the-time-cold-jokes . Each round represents the distilled essence of the philosophical wisdom of Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Sartre, Camus, and the other wise men in human history. The last laugh, after all, may just be a really nervous one. 

Dare you getting closer. The 2 trucks almost crash.

Making Mario and Jo seating at the narrowest arrangement possible is already unleashing a pressure-cooking situation, and asking them to drive the truck following Bimba and Luigi is one is even more nerve-crackling. You see, the two hot heads were always trying to prove themselves, and fed their self-esteem by exhibiting their physical caliber. Without fully grasping the driving style yet, they furiously steered their engines and always got the big metal beast travel a bit too fast. Certainly, by picking up a monstrous momentum of the truck, Mario and Jo could almost ensure a big crash with the other truck and resulted in a soul-shattering explosion, wiping them all off the map. As it seems, sheer power is not enough for the complex game of existence. This scenario reminds me of Arthur Schopenhauer's 'hedgehog's dilemma'. The hedgehog is a nice guy, he wants to be friendly. But can we get close? Except we are ready to be stabbed by the spines on its body! To Schopenhauer, this symbolizes his view on human relationships. When we need the will to get closer to others  around us, it is still important to keep a distance. This is what we call 'moderation'. Not only for driving nitroglycerine-loaded trucks or making friends, it seems that this wisdom is applicable to so many aspects of our lives. And, this also addresses to Sartre’s idea. Only by keeping a distance, one will be able to appreciate his own importance, and be responsible for all the decisions he has made in his life, a direction towards a more authentic existence. To be a great human, it is indeed an art.

On the edge.

After the quartet has managed not to crash with each other, have they passed the test? Not quite. The next challenge involved a rough stretch of un-travelable roads and culminated at the 'washboard', a bridge that could just collapse with the lightest weight hanging on it. Absurd may it seem, it serves as the imagery of life on some many levels. First, it expresses the sentiment of the 'on-the-edge' feeling through the waves of challenges that greet us throughout our lives. While you are looking at the finish-line, the big question is, do you have the caliber to stroll through the bridge before it collapses?  That is the legendary 'abyss', which is a symbol present in many movies. From James Stewart hanging on with his acrophobia in Hitchcock's 'Vertigo', to Rick Deckard holding on to prevent his demise in 'Blade Runner', all these scenes are the most confrontational to the audience. These are the images that challenge the viewers to a 'game of death', to bluff them and see who is ready to go one step further. On the road to success, don't you find that the rope becomes tighter as you are closer to the finishing line? This also reiterates Schopenhauer's wisdom on the issue - to be moderate, and to develop a sense of self-control, can be the ultimate secret to achievement, or at least, an authentic life. Speaking of the abyss,  it also reminds me of my hero, Friedrich Nietzsche, and one of his most ambivalent and iconic quotes - the 'monster and abyss' statement.

'He who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby become a monster. And if thou gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will also gaze into thee.'

Similar to most of great old Fritz's quotes, this one invites multiple interpretations, and I would like to offer mine and state how it fits into 'The Wages of Fear'. The reason why we perceive to be 'looking at the abyss' is because we see as ourselves as the 'subject', and of course, the abyss is the 'object'. This mindset seems to originate from an old belief that we can control our fate as we are intelligent and we stand at the center of the world, thus 'we can be good' by being active to influence others etc. Unfortunately, we have forgotten human's true position in the universe, and indeed that can be pretty insignificant. These are the bloating statements that lead us to believe ourselves as the masters of the universe, and not truly appreciating the meaning of our existence. Nietzsche's intention may be to deconstruct the whole notion of 'subject / object', as, what he believes, the monster fighter is 'becoming' the monster himself. We all have our dark sides, and there is no way we can hide it. There is a point that we, the heroes, will have to face our darker aspects. Only then we can truly understand ourselves and reward with self-knowledge. As you will soon discover, this section can actually be a nice organizing symbol for the message behind the whole story. As the men were struggling through the threatening horizons, the demons and dark sides of themselves were unleashed from their inner psyches. And, unfortunate for these guys, their worst sides counted on the score sheet of life, too.

The duality of the human condition.

Next time : The End Game that ends it all.

(2/3)

by Ed Law

14/9/2015

Film Analysis - 56

H. G. Clouzot

Henri-Georges Clouzot (1907-1977)

Pablo Picasso : You want it done right no ?
H.-G. Clouzot : No I want you to finish on time you fxxk !
-From Henri-Georges Clouzot's 'The Mystery of Picasso'

If there is one person Alfred Hitchcock, the 'Master of Suspense', has to be afraid of, that person must be the director Henri-Georges Clouzot, widely known as 'The French Hitchcock'.

You may not have ever heard of Clouzot's name before, yet you are more likely to have heard of his 2 most iconic films. The first one is 'The Wages of Fear', which is likely to be my favorite European film of all time, and the second one is 'Les Diaboliques'. Both films have been remade and inspired countless other films. Due to his health and bad fortune, Clouzot may not have been capable of making as many as films as Hitchcock, yet Clouzot's most wonderful films have good reasons to make Hitchcock envious. Strongly aware of the dark side of humanity, Clouzot has no reservations to expose the darkest nature of the human condition, and the bleakness of his films has reached a point that many of Hitchcock’s films have no way to come close. We can say many of Hitchcock’s characters are perverse – they have mental problems that will lead them to the evil deeds, and their motivations can often be explained away through a psychoanalytical perspective. Clouzot’s characters are far more realistic, and to put it simply, these characters are just plain nasty.

Wife and Mistress - the double in 'Les Diaboliques'. 'The Double' is a plot device evident in many of Hitchcock's and Clouzot's films.

Both Hitchcock and Clouzot are known as masters of Suspense, yet, what does it mean to be suspenseful? Suspense, in short, is not identical to ‘scary’ or horror. Hitchcock, the real boss here, has provided an inspiring example of what it means to be suspenseful.

If two persons are having a meal at a table, and a hidden bomb under the table explodes, then this is known as ‘scary’. The whole point is to instill a shock factor that will scare the hell out of you. But imagine if the bomb doesn’t explode – a ticking bomb – then you are literally waiting for the bomb to inevitably go off, it is called ‘suspense’. 

To me, suspense is all about withholding and anticipation. You are disillusioned by the suspension of events, and a successful suspenseful plot will be able to strain your patience, captivate your attention and thus truly thrill you.

Suspense seems to have become a lost art nowadays. It can be attributed to the shorter attention span of the audience - movie viewers can’t just wait, they want reverse-angle shots and fast cuts. Frankly, it is not difficult at all to generate ‘horror’, you don’t have to be a filmmaker to scare the hell out of others. Yet generating suspense requires techniques and strategies. So how did the Master of Suspense do that?

Hitchcock employed a famous plot device, known as a ‘MacGuffin’, to generate suspense. A ‘MacGuffin’ is a plot device which is used solely to move the plot forward, to capture the audience’s attention. It is a sort of a ‘beacon’ to guide the audience, through time, towards the end of a Hitchcock film, but it does not contribute to the solution of the mystery. Put it simply, it is a ‘question’ in the film that never has a definite answer. The sole purpose of the ‘MacGuffin’ is to generate a suspenseful atmosphere for the audience, to lead the audience to the ultimate explosion of the bomb. Take ‘Rear Window’ as an example. James Stewart’s character has been spying on his neighbour’s activity, and he suspected one of his neighbours have committed a murder plot. The details of the murder itself are never shown in the film, it was the MacGuffin. We identify with Stewart’s character and we know his intuition is right, and the suspense is the anticipitaion that the neighbour will eventually come to attack Stewart, we just don’t know when it will be the time. That’s true – psychological manipulations are often used to craft a great film!

Clouzot and Picasso.

How about the ‘French Hitchcock’? It is quite crucial to realize that, while both masters have a deep understanding of the mechanics of suspense, their treatments are not all the same. Clouzot, unlike Hitchcock, has been derided by the young ‘French New Wave’ critics as ‘old-fashioned’. Whether it is a fair statement is another story, yet can we call all those voters who have voted for ‘The Wages of Fear’ and ‘Les Diaboliques’ at IMDB website old blcokheads too (both films are on the TOP 250)?! Clouzot did not use ‘fancy’ plot techniques such as non-linear narratives or streams of consciousness, he adopted a rather classical style, with the conventional narrative, continuity editing, and realistic settings. Yet it is the story of Clouzot’s film that has substances and insights. Clouzot’s film has a stronger sense of realism than many of Hitchcock’s film, and the audience can quite easily identify with the characters. The characters are people we will likely to encounter in real life, and many of them, to be frank, can be rather negative and nasty! Indeed, everyone’s mental condition is normal in an ‘absurd’ film like The Wages of Fear (as I will convince you soon), it is just everyone has their dark sides to deal with. Clouzot’s style is stark and unsentimental, he just wants to tell you the awful and unsavory truths of the human condition.

Jean Cocteau and H. G. Clouzot.

Clouzot and Hitchcock also have differing background philosophies. Many of Hitchcock’s film can be interpreted in a psychoanalytical / psychological viewpoint, and the reasons behind the evil character’s deeds are likely related to psychological defects, just like the classic Freudian explanations. Clouzot, rather like Jean-Pierre Melville, based his work more on Existentialism (the most obvious being ‘The Wages of Fear’). Although Clouzot seems to many like a ‘Yosemite Sam’ type character, he did have a circle of famous friends – Jean Cocteau, Jean-Paul Sartre and Pablo Picasso, to name a few. He has taken influences from these artists and put his own life views into his work. His universe is indifferent, and the characters are amoral  - they just wanna survive...

Fragmented identity in 'Le Corbeau'.

Clouzot also shows his mastery of mise-en-scene in many of his films, and these have been inspiring. Many of his films are about people doing immoral things, stabbing backs from the behind. His first film, ‘Le Corbeau’ (The Raven), was about a blackmailing spree in a community. The film is based on ‘falseness’. Every character has their mask to put on, to hide their true nature and intentions at behind. Adopting the style of Film Noir, Clouzot used stunning composition and mise-en-scene to expose the paranoia of these characters. A woman staring into a shattered mirror, that represented a fragmentation of identity. Or, did she even know what her true nature was, in the first place? This uncertainty enhances the paranoia, when everyone could just as likely to be the hunted one. Another stunning composition in the film was that when a character saw a shadow moving towards him, having no idea whether that guy could be trusted as a friend. In the same frame, a contrasting light and dark components were present, and tightened the compositional tension of the theme.

The disappearance of the body, the vaporization of the truth.

In Les Diaboliques, water serves as a nice mise-en-scene for the film. The 2 most revealing scenes were related to water – the swimming pool and the bath. Water may symbolize fluidity, flexibility and vitality, yet in Clouzot’s film, the muddy water represented threat and a displacement of truth. When the swimming pool was drained, the body was gone, and the truth has vaporized. When the husband ‘came back to life’ at the bathtub, what emerged was the triumph of evil. How about the ‘passage of death’? The corridor that led to the death of Vera Clouzot’s character was the tool of suspense. It was the suspenseful trail for the audience to reach the ultimate twist-ending.

With his memorable plots and suspenseful scenarios, Clouzot is more than capable of holding you on the edge! And if ‘Suspense Film’ has a name, it has to be ‘The Wages of Fear’!

Next: The Wages of Fear

by Ed Law
5/9/2015

Film Analysis - 54

The Wages of Fear, Part 1

卑賤的蒼生， 被命運玩弄於股掌中。- E. L. 

Life is a game, and this is in no way a cliché. The ups and downs in every moment of your existence, the stress to achieve and, the burden to survive, these aspects can almost keep you ‘on the edge’. The loosening of a cork screw, or the appearance of a mindless error, will lead you to hit the wall in the ‘game of life’. The big question is, just when is your turn to be eliminated, by destiny? Such is the theme of H. G. Clouzot’s masterpiece ‘The Wages of Fear’, which was released in 1953. It was the film that has made Hitchcock to realize that he had a serious rival. It can be one of the most suspenseful films ever in the history of cinema (almost 90 minutes of non-stop suspense), and the bleakness of the film is rare, especially for nowadays’ popcorn movies. The film was released in the Eisenhower era, which conformity was seen as the norm. Given the amount of ‘feel-good’ movies released at that era, I suppose ‘The Wages of Fear’ would be considered as ‘intense’ for many viewers at that time (and of course the anti-American parts were cut in the USA release). The film won major awards at the Cannes festival, and has inspired at least 2 re-makes ever since. ‘The Wages of Fear’ has achieved a timelessness that has not dated.

Why is 'The Wages of Fear' my favorite European film?

When I first watched ‘The Wages of Fear’ at my teenage years, I was of coursed impressed by the excitement and pleasure (!!) of watching this sweaty quartet, transporting explosives on trucks through the narrowing mountain passages. To me, the film was a first-rate thriller that could captivate audience who enjoyed adventure movies. When I grow up, and have been able to read more and gain more life experience, I start to be able to appreciate the point for Clouzot to make this masterpiece. ‘The Wages of Fear’ is the allegory of life. Through an existentialist perspective, Clouzot philosophized the futility of an almost insurmountable aim, and the absurdity of the human condition. To me, all the key barriers the 4 men had to pass through possessed rich and insightful philosophical meanings, and that will be the subject of my second article. Clouzot challenged his viewers to be courageous, and to stand up to the absurd moments of life. Through the waves of challenges in our human existence, we desperately hold on and try not to fall off. Just when we think we have turned around a corner, another barrage of obstacles lead themselves up. Too often, even a smallest error can lead to a catastrophic consequence. And, the baggage we are carrying are not getting lighter as our journey continues. Call me pessimistic, yet this is the harsh reality of life. Any authentic person will be able to accept the absurdity and stop asking ‘Why?Why?Why?’. All you need is the courage to continue, and the will to ‘getting through hell’. It is the ‘suspenseful’ nature of life that makes life so endearing. In 'The Wages of Fear', we are not encountering perverse monsters or other-worldly species, we are battling against the Force of Nature and also our fate. None of the characters are perverse, yet they all have their dark sides to confront, or to come to terms with. It is the balance of  realism and 'The Absurd' that makes the film so fascinating. By telling us these ugly, yet insightful truths, I am convinced that Clouzot is an admirable filmmaker, and the dark and gritty film is shining inspiring perspectives for generations of audience.

‘We don’t need your life story.’

(SPOILERS! t is important here as it will definitely diminish the potential thrill and excitement you can get from this masterpiece.)

*****SPOILERS START*****
In order to survive, how far can you get to? You've better asked this question to the hopeless residents in Las Piedras, the fictional South American town in 'The Wages of Fear'. With their soulless existence, the 'odd man out' seemed to be the Southern Oil Company, an oil enterprise known for exploiting the workers in the town. There was a small airport to prevent this town from being a lonely island, too - yet do you think anyone will have the cash to get an air ticket, spread their wings and fly away? Among these desperate people were Mario, a Corsican playboy; Jo, a bully and ex-mobster from France; Bimba and Luigi, 2 other immigrants. Finally, a chance came for the underdogs. A massive fire happened at an oil field, and, absurd as it might seem, the only logical way to deal with this saga was to use nitroglycerine, an explosive chemical, to cause a big explosion, thereby consuming the oxygen source and capping the well. But no one is ready for this farce, right? So, without proper equipment, and with the town separated from the oil field through miles of mountain roads, the company decided that the explosive nitroglycerine had to be transported there anyway, with some second-rate jerrycans, on 2 trucks respectively. What does that mean? Well, that means the unstable nitroglycerine can explode with the lightest perturbation from the truck, and an explosion may just happen for absolutely no reason! It sounded dangerous, and of course the company knew it, so they were not willing to risk legal challenges from the unionized workers. Then who would do it? The desperados, of course! The company decided to recruit 4 men, and each would be paid for US$2000, if they could survive and come back. Honestly, this is not much, but this is more than enough to get an air ticket and escape the doomed hell in this small town. So, a lot of volunteers applied for this 'suicidal mission'. Eventually, Mario, Bimba, and Luigi were employed, and another German. Yet, the German never turned up, and Jo was substituted, leading to the suspicion that Jo might have killed him to take the job.

An iconic image from the film.

So, the trucks set out and began the suspenseful journey. Bimba and Luigi was on the first truck, followed by Mario and Jo in the second truck, within a reasonable distance to limit the possibility of collison or casualties. Yet the aggressive Mario and Jo drove a bit too fast, and also crashed into Bimba and Luigi's truck. Later, they had to cross a rough stretch of road, and also a rotten wooden platform. After these physical challenges, they came across a giant boulder blocking the way. The 'Old Jo', unlike the tough guy persona he has always been showing in town, started to be consumed by the stress and freaked himself out like a coward. They eventually solved the problem by doing a controlled explosion on the rock, after a tense preparation stage.

Explosion of the first truck.

Soon after the height of their achievement, the first truck exploded, and Bimba and Luigi perished for absolutely no reason. They were eliminated - from the game of life. Seeing this, Mario and Jo realized they were getting closer to their doom.  The explosion caused an extra obstacle for Mario and Jo, too - a large pool of viscous oil which blocked the way. Their truck was unfortunately stuck, and any instability could perturb the nitroglycerine to explode. Jo stepped down to the oil and helped to navigate, yet when desperately trying to free from the oil's clutch, Mario's truck ran over Jo and mortally wound him in the process. Eventually, the truck could continue, yet Jo was dying. They reached the destination, and the explosives successfully put out the fire. Mario was given the reward, and he drove the now empty truck back to the town. Happy ending? No, I haven't finished yet...

An elated Mario drove through the narrow mountain passages, knowing that now there were no explosives to burn him to hell. As he was proudly testing his driving skills, he made a careless turn, and lost control of the truck. As the truck fell down the mountain, Mario finally lost control of his life, and plunged to his death...

THE END. Literally.

*****Spoilers end*****

I have always been a strong believer for the following wise opinion - the truest side of the human nature will only emerge from the most extreme of situations. In The Wages of Fear, this is exactly what that means. The wisdom of the statement derives from the 'theatrical nature' of human relationships. We are all actors of our lives. We put on masks and facades, to present ourselves to the others in a way we desire. The motivation can be self-interest or empowerment. Yet when the challenges come, will you still be the same? Look at smart old Jo. He's a bully, harassing other people to prove himself strong all the time. He is smart indeed, as he knows how to get the power. But when flying rocks and furious explosives are marching towards him, he reduces to nothing more than a chicken. It is the extreme scenario that rips off his deceptive mask and reveals his true nature, and these are the cases that count.

The Wages of Fear is in no way a popcorn movie! While it looks like an adventure film, it is more fair to categorize it as a Film Noir. You may disagree - because unlike the claustrophobic environment in many of the Noir, 'The Wages of Fear' takes place at the exterior. Yet, it is the atmosphere and the paranoia that makes the film a Film Noir. The film captures the paranoid atmosphere evident in a number of films from the 1950s, such as 'Rififi', 'Le Trou', 'Touch of Evil', to name a few. The suspense, amoral characters, and the fatalistic bleakness also contributes to the Noir outlook of the film. And, sitting in a tiny component in the truck, with a burden of explosives at your back, is honestly the most claustrophobic experience I can imagine!

What is your motivation of life? For many, it is merely to 'get more'. Survival, in a sense, is about getting the best for oneself. At the opening minutes of 'The Wages of Fear', a kid was seen torturing some insects aimlessly on the muddy ground, which an ice-cream cart drove by. He had no money to get the ice-cream he wanted, and could just stare at the cart. Soon, the ice cream cart departed. This is a meticulous foreshadowing sequence by Clouzot, as it illustrates the underlying theme of the film.  This sequence has clearly inspired the opening scene of Peckinpah's 'The Wild Bunch', as both sequences succinctly establish  the bleak outlook of the directors. We desire and fight hard for whatever we want in our existence. When the chance has expired, it walks by. The hope for the child may have vaporized, but his desire has not. The question is, what is one willing to lose to get it eventually? In the case of our 4 protagonists, are they willing to struggle hard for the ultimate reward, even if that means they will reach their demises? Bleak as it may seem, it is the 'wage' you get for getting through the thrill of life.

One learns more as the journey continues. If that is the case, then 'The Wages of Fear' is a hell of an educational journey!

(1/2)

by Ed Law
5/9/2015

Film Analysis - 55