Max et les ferrailleurs

Undeservedly neglected, 'Max et les ferrailleurs' is one of the most intelligent, splendidly acted and carefully crafted French crime flicks of the 70's. However, cataloguing it as just another 'crime flick' would be sacrilegious, as it has to offer much more to the patient viewer.

Claude Sautet, from what I have gathered, is known for his dealing with the bourgeoisie's turmoils, often depicting complex social dramas in his films. Prior to watching 'Max et les ferrailleurs', I had only seen another great film he made with Michel Piccoli - Les Choses de la Vie, which is indeed quite different from 'Max'. The subjects and genres might differ, yet Sautet ingeniously manages to create intriguing character studies (as both films have fascinating protagonists) and, while at that, to depict perplexing and powerful love stories, which help shape the protagonists' moral portraits.

I won't insist on the plot; suffice to say that the film does not get dull at any time and it also does not fall into a standard, clichéd policier. Max, the protagonist, could be compared to Melville's Le Samourai, insofar as both are cold, meticulous, obsessive and enigmatic. The baddies - the 'junkmen'- are also well individualized, and here I should point out the excellent scene where policeman Rosinsky talks about each of them. Last but not least, there's also the divine Romy Schneider: between us, I wasn't able to take my eyes off her whenever she was in front of the camera.

One more aspect that amazed me about the film was the fluent and elegant camera-work, which had an immense impact on creating the film's atmosphere. Although I'm not by any means technical literate, the composition of the shots struck me as carefully planned and the lightning was spot-on.

In a nutshell, 'Max et les ferrailleurs' is more than you'd be inclined to think: it's gritty and elegant at the same time, it's brutal and sensual, it's a thrilling crime movie and a complex character study, in short it is what a good film must be. Don't miss it!

My favorite writer, PKD, has written a short story adapted by my favorite director, SS, where police could arrest criminals before they commit the crime as they could guess it before hand (it's "minority report"). Here, it's even more diabolic: the police can arrest criminals before they commit because they know it will happen because it's the police that inspire the crime.

This Machiavelism is extremely well played by Piccoli as this crazy policeman. As the best brains in criminals, he builds his web with his colleagues and the poor bunch he has chosen for prey! The best is that his suggestion power is so amazing that he uses it indirectly, trough the girlfriend of the gang boss, played by our french Marilyn, that is to say Romy Schneider. Those two iconic actresses have really much in common: their talent, their fragility, their beauty and their tragic fate...

In addition, this movie has now 40 years and i'm amazed how life in France and Paris has changed (and you can Google map rue d'Argonne Paris to see it as well)

1) almost every big brand heard or seen in the movie has disappeared today ("suze", "crédit-lyonnais", "Byrrh", "prisunic"...)

2) this is the last years before computers and electronics and however, the people aren't cavemen, depressed or whatever bad: on contrary, they look more human

3) i can't explain this as i would be labeled as racist.

In addition of being a great thriller, this is also a wonderful love story, one of the kind that I like where the lovers are unable to tell the feeling. Those two stories run all along the movie and meet beautifully and dramatically in the climax.

In conclusion, a excellent innovative french thriller that has strangely escaped so far any American remake, even if this dark plot from security forces has emerged in books: read for example Forsyth's Avenger where the war on terror is played with the same rules: infiltrate cells and inspire them up to the point they can be stopped...

Claude Sautet emerged at the tail end of the Nouvelle Vague and was undoubtedly one of the most gifted directors to have surfaced in the late 1960s, having first cut his teeth as script writer, cameraman, assistant director. Such complete knowledge of the entire cinema spectrum only assisted Sautet in cranking out wonderful flicks like MAX, UN COEUR EN HIVER. LES CHOSES DE LA VIE, QUELQUES JOURS AVEC MOI, among others.

In MAX, he is assisted by very effective cinematography by René Matelin, and Sautet himself had an important hand in the script, which is logical and credible, with always impeccably dressed detective Max paying protitute Schneider out of his own pocket to win his way to a potential thief's heart. NB - the reason I dock a star is that initially the aim of Max's operation was to catch in the commission of crime a certain Carmona, but the latter is never seen and after a while seems to have been forgotten.

Through the exceedingly sexy Schneider, we see Max sell the plan of a possible bank robbery to Schneider who in turn passes it on to non-customer, regular lover Bernard Fresson, a poor devil who earns his living from brute strength work and leaps at the opportunity of scoring easy dough. Georges Wilson is superb as Max's boss, aware of the consequences and injustice of forcing a criminal situation but willing to help one of his best detectives after the latter had bungled a previous operation.

The whole film turns around the relationship between Piccoli and Schneider, a prostitute who is happy to earn money without having to move her hips but who begins to get frustrated by Max's distant behavior, even if they kiss and you sense true love between them.

Ultimately, this well done film is about loyalty and betrayal, about overstepping the boundaries of legal and police work, and sticking to those cornerstones of justice, and it certainly had me thinking about those variants for several days.

Highly recommended. 9/10.

Few people know it,but Claude Sautet was first a film noir connoisseur.His first work,"classes tout risques" was beating Jean -Pierre Melville at his own game;the follow-up ,"l'arme à gauche" ,is difficult to see nowadays ,but if you can ,do not think twice.

In the seventies,from "les choses de la vie" onwards,Sautet became the cinema de qualité director .I mean it pejoratively.Whereas "les choses de la vie" remains watchable today ,thanks to a sensational editing,the other works such as "Cesar et Rosalie " "Vincent François Paul et les autres" "Mado" are depicting a bourgeois life ,speaking of people "in danger of despair"(Sautet Dixit) but with an optimism that was almost unbearable in the crisis of the seventies.The screenplays became very loose,without any dramatic progression .You can sum up "Cesar et Rosalie" like this :"Rosalie loves Cesar ,but she also loves David.What will become of her ?":everything taking place in desirable mansions ,what a contemporary critic aptly called " un espace Cardin" This is two-bit psychological drama ,with ponderous symbolism,as "Mado" will confirm with its infuriating scene where the cars get boggeddown in the mud .a critic said then "it's the movie that gets bogged down itself.

"Max et les ferrailleurs " is a different matter;by combining the film noir side of the two first opus with what will be developed (in a very gauche way) in the "psychological" future films ,Sautet brings it all back home.It stands out as his most sustained piece of work in the seventies.An absolutely intriguing work,with a beautiful Romy Schneider who keeps the audience waiting,only appearing after 30 minutes.Her relationship with cop Piccoli is very shady,sometimes recalling the Fonda/Sutherland one in Pakula's "Klute" :it really stands comparison with it.A wonderful depiction of a popular milieu,in the suburbs of Paris (Nanterre) ,where the secondary characters seem to be out of a Duvivier or a Clouzot work.But it's finally the Jacques Becker spirit Sautet captures here ,and it's really too bad that,after such an interesting movie,he fell into the trap of the academic cinema de qualité.

I went to see this movie today in NEW YORK is going to be show for one week only and for the first time is show in USA, the movie is very good with a great end but what make this movie good is ROMY SCHNEIDER 1938-1982 when she came out in the screen ,she play a prostitute named lily, the question i ask myself was how come somebody can be so beautiful so perfect i have not word to described this woman and beside her talent she was so good in her part i love this movie, ROMY IN REAL LIFE WAS NEVER HAPPY SHE HAVE A5 YEARS LOVE AFFAIR WITH ALAIN DELON AND AFTER THAT SHE MARRIED THE FATHER OF HER LATE SON David EVENTUALLY SHE DIVORCED HIM AND MARRIED DANIEL BIASINI THE FATHER OF HER DAUGHTER SARAH