Deux hommes en fuite

Figures in a Landscape is the most peculiar film I've ever seen. I've seen a lot of peculiar films (The Keep, The Island, A Zed and Two Noughts, Eye of the Devil, etc.) but this one beats them all in terms of its curious nature.

It has almost no plot. What little plot there is details the efforts of two escaped convicts to evade a menacing black helicopter as they flee through the rugged landscape of some un-named South American country. Did they really commit a crime at all? Why does the chopper pilot want to catch them? Who are they? All these questions, so obvious and central to all the other films of this type, are left unasked and unanswered. This is purely a chase for the sake of a chase movie. Everything is left unexplained, and the immediate action is the only thing that is concentrated upon.

Given the existentialist angle that the film adopts, it is little surprise that it is unpopular.Many people feel cheated by the lack of explanation. I have a soft spot for the film, because it lets me decide for myself what is going on and what has gone before. I feel that Robert Shaw's performance is commanding, and the aerial photography is outstanding. However, I'm not saying that this is some kind of overlooked classic; nor even that it is an excellent film. It's just a wrongly panned film that has enough interesting features within its running time to make it commendable to anyone who has yet to see it.

Inspired by the minimalist theater-driven film-making of the period, Figures in a Landscape is much more interesting than its competition (Tomorrow, Losey's own "The Servant). Why? Because of the helicopter, of course!

Robert Shaw, always inspired, is here particularly so, all but frothing at the mouth as he drags his weary carcass over the mountains, from nowhere, to nowhere, until the endless desert itself seems more and more like a stage for their mad performance.

An inversion of the often static fare of the period that still displays serious acting chops. Recommended.

The viewer is presented with two characters. These characters are on the run, from a black helicopter that keeps chasing after them. The viewer is not told what there crime is, or if they have committed any crime. They both must fight their way through a rocky, rough, dry desert region. All the viewer gets is little stories from each of these men. We find out about children, a wife, former girlfriends, etc. The men struggle to reach a safe place, almost driving themselves crazy, believing that this is possible. This film is not available on video or disc, and the TV print runs shorter than 110 minutes. There may be a large important part of this film missing. Maybe one day it will be released on tape and disc so that a wider audience can see it. This film really is a good piece of film making.

Rugged maniacal brute MacConnachie (a fabulously ferocious and galvanizing performance by Robert Shaw) and wimpy intellectual Ansell (a sound portrayal by Malcom McDowell) are a couple of escaped fugitives who are on the run in some unspecified foreign country. The pair find themselves being relentlessly pursued by an ominous black helicopter.

Director Joseph Losey makes excellent and inspired use of the harsh, sprawling, and desolate countryside. Shaw's stark and intriguing script eschews pretense and exposition in favor of stripping down the premise to its mean'n'lean existential essentials whereby the plot basically becomes a gritty meditation on survival and the ruthless extremes people will resort to in order to stay alive in a hostile and pitiless world. Shaw and McDowell play off each other exceptionally well as a couple of radically contrasting fellows who are forced to depend on each other so they can persevere through a grueling ordeal that's beyond their control or understanding. Several scenes involving close calls with the helicopter register as quite dangerous and hence are positively harrowing to watch. The striking widescreen cinematography by Guy Tabary, Henri Alekan, and Peter Suschitzky offers a wealth of breathtaking aerial shots. Recommended viewing.

"Figures in a Landscape" is definitely one of the weirdest and most unclassifiable movies I've encountered lately, and at the same time it's pretty difficult to explain why that is. Some movies are weird because they increasingly overpower the viewer with substantial twists and/or stylistic gimmicks, but still they constantly uphold the impression there's some kind of deeper meaning or hidden structure behind it. The films of David Lynch are like that, for example. Other movies, and "Figures in a Landscape" is definitely one of them, are weird because they never at one point feature abrupt story twists and never even seem to want to achieve a deeper meaning. Kind of like the 'what you see is what you get principle' and don't even bother asking background information. Based on Barry England's novel - that probably only very few people have read - "Figures in a Landscape" revolves on two escaped convicts nervously running across a desolate area. Pretty much like the title implies, they are, in fact, simply figures in a landscape. We're never explained where exactly the events take place (South America? East Asia?) or what crimes the two committed in the first place. They must have been quite serious, however, as MacConnachie and Ansell quickly find themselves besieged by a menacing black helicopter and later also by army patrols on foot. The helicopter plays a devastating mental and physical game with them, as it appears to be omnipresent and in absolutely no hurry to pick them up. This is the type of film where there are no characters to root for. You won't develop any sympathy for the fugitives as they commit some truly vile acts along their way and you can't really support the guys inside the helicopter, neither, as their faces aren't even properly shown. "Figures in a Landscape" is a brooding, moody and mildly unsettling film that doesn't always makes sense and doesn't bother to involve the viewer. But, if you manage to put all the unanswered questions aside from you, this also might turn out one extremely enchanting viewing experience. Every shot, every inch of the landscape seems precisely measured and re-considered at least a dozen times before featuring in the film. The choreography is simply wonderful and the filming locations – apparently Spanish – are almost continuously breathtaking. The performances of Robert Shaw and Malcolm McDowell couldn't be more apt and Joseph Losey's direction is very surefooted. After seeing only this and the even more unique "These are the Doomed", I'm more than anxious to check out Losey's further repertoire.