Rififi (1955)

Directed by: Jules Dassin
Written by: Jules Dassin, Rene Wheeler, Auguste le Breton 
Starring: Jean Servais, Carl Mohner, Robert Manuel, Jules Dassin
Rated: NR

I was somewhat surprised to see a solid French gangster film, but I'm not sure why. Captain Obvious will tell you noir is a French word, but the retrospectively applied term to the genre leaves more American connotation, or at least English ones, than it does continental European. Of course, director Jules Dassin is American, but he is an American with European sensibilities, and here has fashioned a heist picture that at once applies the tension and male-driven qualities of the dime-a-dozen Hollywood gangster films with the uniquely French emotional qualities which drive the story. Most of the film is unremarkable save one sequence, the heist itself, which will floor you. But more on that to follow. Now, some formalities...

Rififi means "rough-and-tumble", and "Rififi" is a handsome film about a small group of handsome, rough-n'-tumble men who plot to rob a bank safe full of tens of millions of francs worth of precious jewels. Heading the team is Tony le Stephanois (Jean Servais) who, after a stint in prison is approached by his good friends Jo (Carl Mohner) and Mario (Robert Manuel) who wish to carry out a small heist. When it is discovered the riches hidden in the vaults, they employ the help of safe expert and sexual deviant Cesar (Dassin) to go for the gold, so to speak.

The four plan the perfect caper and they succeed, making them all instantly wealthy. But le Stephanois's past relationship with the lovely Mado (Marie Sabouret) comes back to haunt him when her current beau, the jealous and dangerous Louis Grutter (Pierre Grasset), learns of their robbery, compounded by the hapless bungling of Cesar. While keeping one step ahead of the police, the group must now avoid the rival gang and protect the ice they've stolen.

All in all it's pretty standard fare, full of characters but only peppered with a few people worth worrying about. Most of the cast flit in and out, like Mado, who seems only to be a part of the movie to link le Stephanois to Grutter and provide a valuable, but not crucial bit of information. What these people do with their jewels is of little interest--even le Stephanois doesn't know what he wants them for--but the underlying themes is what people will do to obtain riches, even without an end goal. It seems as though having and holding the gems is the goal itself.

Dassin has done a capable job of wearing multiple hats as director, writer and actor, helming a piece that is taught with a slow build to the final obligatory shootout. But what is most interesting is not the climax, but the heist itself which comes at the halfway mark. Indeed, I'm sure "Rififi" is only really the iconic piece of French cinema it is due the carefully orchestrated breaking and entering of the bank.

For a full 32 minutes the audience is left watching the men execute the plan which they methodically mapped out. Without a single line of dialogue or a note of music the meticulous and exhilarating robbery unfolds. It is beautifully choreographed; I had the impression that I was watching art about art, not about crime, and it certainly makes one wonder about where the information on planning such an intricate scene was gathered. Often ripped off, this is a benchmark moment in cinematic crime, one of terrible urgency yet one that plays with the grace of a Debussy piano suite. It is truly movie magic.

I have a great love for noir  pictures. Even though the characters are meant to move about the screen full of fear and suspicion, I find something so inherently romantic about them. They feature proper men, full of self-worth and a hidden desire to do good. They wander lonely streets and hide behind streetlamps, ducking into payphone booths to send a desperate call of warning. There is never a black and white; the intentions and interests of the characters are made more understandable because they are more morally ambiguous. For all of the heightened sense of drama this brand of cinema feels the most real to me because there really is no good and evil, even though there may be a "good guy" and a "bad guy". Although "Rififi" is largely undistinguished (excepting the centerpiece) it still has the qualities of a great movie, full of that moral ambiguity which I love so much.

3.5/4