The Conversation

For once I watched a movie that I haven't looked forward to, in fact, I can't remember where I heard of it, but I watched:

The Conversation (1974).

This thriller was written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and has a pretty good cast. I'd even argue it has an unnecessarily good cast. Gene Hackman is our main star, Harry Caul, which is fine, but his assistant, Stan, is played by John Cazale yet only appears in three or four scenes. Harry's sort of girlfriend is played by Teri Garr and only appears in one scene. Robert Duvall appears in one and a half scene and is uncredited for some reason. Harrison Ford is well cast and has decent screen time. Please understand that I'm not really complaining, but these wonderful actors are wasted in such short scenes. Practically any actor that looks the part would do, and yes, I do get that we're talking early 70's, and some names weren't that big yet, but both Cazale and Duvall were in The Godfather, so it's not like they weren't well known.

Oh well, we're here to talk about The Conversation. Harry Caul is the preeminent electronic surveillance expert in the country. His legendary skills have landed him a job for The Director (Duvall). Harry and his team photograph and record a couple talking in a busy square and their conversation turns very serious. The job done, Harry contacts the client but only gets to meet The Director's assistant (Ford) who pays him, but in a fit of pique Harry refuses, stating he'll only hand over the tapes to the Director personally.

Harry's problem is that he is a very moral man, or at least he tries to be. He is also extremely private and somewhat paranoid. A famous job he did in the 60's led to three people dying, and he feels responsible. He is worried that the couple is in danger, and he becomes torn between his professionalism and the money it brings and his religion and conscience. That is all I'm willing to say to avoid spoilers.

The Conversation clocks in at just under two hours, and despite being a typically slow 70's movie, it isn't boring. There are scenes that I wondered about, feeling that they seemed a bit unnecessary, but there is no wasted space in this movie. Every piece of the puzzle is important, even though they don't make sense at first. Remember, The Conversation was made in a time when the audience was assumed to be watching the movie instead of playing with their phones.

With Coppola's direction and the cast we have, The Conversation is absolute quality, no doubt about that. However, it is a very different creature that either The Godfather parts one and two or Apocalypse Now. It is realistic, almost unpleasantly so, but at the same time it grabs you and demands to watch Harry's conflict to the end.

The sound is also worth mentioning. The music itself is fine, nothing out of place but there is a lot of other sounds as well. There is electronic interference picked up by microphones and this eerie panicked noise that raises the tension mirroring Harry's anxiety perfectly. Superb work there.

So, do I recommend this movie? Absolutely, if that wasn't made clear by the fact that my only “complaint” is that the actors are too good. The Conversation is not made for passive background watching, but if you pay attention, it is a great movie.

That's that and all that. Join me again next time, and until then, have a great week!

 

The Decembrists

Today we're jumping into history again, this time with the 1800's Russian revolutionaries, The Decembrists.

This is a two part documentary on The Decembrists who plotted against the Russian Tsar over at the Epic History Youtube channel.

I really don't have that much more to say except enjoy and that's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week!   

 

The Battle of Algiers

I finally sat down and watched:

The Battle of Algiers (1966).

First off, this Italian-Algerian movie is black and white and apart from one line delivered by an American journalist, it is completely in French and Arabic. Unless you are fluent in these languages, you will need the subtitles. The Battle of Algiers is not a movie to have on in the background, you need to pay attention.

The movie takes place over a period of time (1954-62) in Algiers, then a French colony. We meet Ali La Pointe, a young street punk who gets by on scams. He gets sent to prison where he becomes radicalized and joins the fledgling FLN (National Liberation Front).

The FLN begins by killing French police officers and soon graduates to bombing cafes, despite checkpoints and police crackdowns. The increasing violence brings the French paratroopers to Algiers, troops who were used to fighting insurgents in French Indochina. The paratroopers, led by Lt. Col. Mathieu (Jean Martin, the only trained actor in the movie) soon turn the tide on the FLN and things get very ugly incredibly quickly. Colonel Mathieu has no qualms about using torture to crack the FLN cells, believing in the simple fact that to win, you need to do what must be done.

The Battle of Algiers is directed by Gillo Pontecorvo who also co-wrote the soundtrack with Ennio Morricone. Pontecorvo basically chose to make the movie look like a newsreel, despite there being no actual news footage in the entire film. He chose to use normal people to heighten the sense of realism, with Jean Martin being the only exception. Despite playing such a ruthless character, Martin lost his standing as a French actor for signing a petition to give Algiers its independence.

Being two hours long, The Battle of Algiers is not boring but at times it is slow. Perhaps patient is a better term for it than slow. The screenplay is based on the book Souvenirs de la Bataille d'Alger by Saadi Yasef who was a real FLN freedom fighter and has a role in the movie. With all this going on, it is no surprise that the movie was banned upon release in France. It stayed banned until 1971. Despite its controversy in France, it won several awards internationally, including the Golden Lion in Venice and three Oscars; Best Foreign Language Film in 1966 and Best Screenplay and Best Director in 1968, being the only movie to have managed several Oscars in non consective years.

The Battle of Algiers is a brutal movie. The uncut version even shows the “interrogation” techniques used by the French, which is not fun to watch. The movie was even used to teach American forces how to handle insurgencies, make of that what you will. What is interesting is that the character Ali La Pointe is a pretty unpleasant person, and Col. Mathieu is quite charming. I'm assuming that this is to illustrate that a bad person can fight for a good cause (freedom) and a pleasant person can fight for a bad cause (tyranny). I'm not educated enough to analyze such a heavy matter with any precision, you'll have to make up your own mind.

So, do I recommend this movie? Absolutely! The Battle of Algiers is a hard hitting film that pulls no punches and gives no apologies. It just shows you what went on. The Battle of Algiers only focuses on the struggle in the city, with the greater national struggle being only referenced in passing, creating a more focused narrative. I don't think I'll rewatch it, but I am very glad I saw it. The Battle of Algiers is a brilliant but unpleasant movie.

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week!