The Last Adventure

I saw this movie in Viet Nam in the open air. It impressed me because of the beautiful scenery, photography and story line. I followed this picture from compound to compound and saw it several times . It was an island, a bit of paradise in an otherwise brutal setting. I will never forget this movie even though I have not seen it in over 30 years.

It is a huge basket with fruits. Dreams and games of childhood, reflected by treasure and fortress, splendid chemistry between Lino Ventura and Alain Delon, few drops of romance and great portrait of friendship, humor and extravagance, fights and deaths, a boy, guide of a local museum, a dromader with a noble name associated, bad guys.

Short, a large window opened in early morning.

I have seen this movie 40 years ago, and remembered quite well a few memorable scenes. It's been a pleasure to see it again on the European ARTE channel and to realize that it survived well the time. I enjoyed it again and not only for nostalgic reasons.

Alain Delon and Lino Ventura were 'monstres sacres' of the French cinema of the epoch. Delon was at the pick of his sex-appeal, and Ventura was always interesting enough to catch even the emotional interest of the girl in the film. They look painfully young here, but were fully achieved actors already.

The action story is quite standard, sure we have seen much better and thrilling since, but the quality of the film resides in the feeling of adventure it radiates, in the exquisite choice of many of the locations and in the sincerity and charm of the relation between the characters. There are a few more French films of the time that have a similar quality and memorable scenes of friendship which push them over the average conventional level of the commercial European cinema of the time. 'Adieu l'ami' also with Delon is another that comes now to my mind. These movies have still something to say to the cinema fans of today.

This interesting as well as intimate story is a passionate retelling and a touching drama about three friends , two men an a woman ; all of them develop a wonderful friendship . This top-drawer motion picture mingles tenderness , drama , warm humor , emotion and sensibility . It deals with two adventurers and best friends, Roland (Lino Ventura , fetish actor of filmmaker Robert Enrico) , a Grand Prix driver, and Manu (Alain Delon) , a daredevil pilot . Manu is victim of a joke that costs him his pilot's license . The agreeable duo meets Alicia (Joanna Shimkus who subsequently married Sidney Poitier) , a sensitive sculptor who dreams of buying an old fort in Charente-Maritime . With seeming contrition , the jokers tell Roland and Manu about a crashed aircraft lying on the ocean floor off the coast of Congo stuffed with jewels and other riches . The Congo journey results to be a treason , they are double-crossed by the pilot (Serge Reggniani) of the crashed plane and the adventurers must pick up the pieces . Later on , they carry out a voyage to Boyardville , Île d'Oléron, Charente-Maritime, and its island : ¨Fort Boyard¨, (France) , where takes place several adventures and risks . There they are pitted against a pack of human sharks (Guy Delorme , Hand Meyer among others) in a tragic ending .

This exciting film contains romantic elements , brooding drama , intrigue , tragic events and thrills especially on its final part . It packs lingering images in which are narrated the lovely relationship between the amiable Alain Delon and Lino Ventura along with the gorgeous Joanna Simkus , as the three adventurers set off to find a sunk loot . This timeless movie displays haunting and powerful scenes , it's plenty of frames which stay forever in the mind . Romantic thriller that deals with a particular buddy movie between Lino Ventura and Alain Delon , a special relationship among two different characters along with the enticing Joanna Shimkus , turning into a beloved friendship and a marvelous love story . Top notch performance from protagonist trio , Lino Ventura as the tough as well as sensible driver , Alain Delon as a valiant pilot and special mention to Joanna Shimkus as Laetitia , an artistic young woman who treats them like brothers . Lively musical score by Francois Roubaix is enjoyable and cheerful , full of piano sounds and whistles , including catching leitmotif . Colorful and shimmer cinematography filmed on location in Boyardville, Île d'Oléron, Charente-Maritime, and Fort Boyard, Charente France .

The motion picture was stunningly written and directed by Robert Enrico , being based on an excellent novel by Jose Giovanni , a notorious writer and filmmaker . Enrico started directing short movies , as his shorts gave him critical acclaim very early in his career. Having become the maker of popular movies after an arty debut, he was awarded the best movie "César" for "Le vieux Fusil" or ¨Old gun¨ before becoming the long-time president of "L'Académie des Césars". He was a good professional who directed interesting films as ¨Jailsbird vacation¨ , ¨Le secret¨ ,¨Rum Runners¨, ¨The wise guys¨ , ¨An occurrence at Owl Creek¨ and his masterpiece ¨The adventurers¨ . Rating : 7,5 , better than average. Worthwhile watching . The film will appeal to French cinema lovers .

The film has many pleasures - a wonderful score, a barnstorming biplane, a funny car (with an even funnier-looking driver), a Paris art show, and a nifty fortress in the middle of the ocean. Alain Delon is always a pleasure to watch. He plays the arrogant, handsome daredevil with a heart of gold quite convincingly. His acting is always intense, even when he is doing very little. Lino Ventura is terrific as well, and he and Delon are a great pair. Upon reflection their relationship makes little sense (since we are given no history of the two) but it hardly matters when one is watching the film. The relationship between the two men and Laetitia (Joanna Shimkus)is a bit odd but sweet and believable. The locations are wide ranging (Paris, Africa, coastal France) and this film is full of exciting and droll scenes: The discovery of the sunken airplane is beautiful and scary; Roland and Manu walking out of the casino in their suave duds and getting into Roland's tow-truck is hilarious. The greatest pleasure of the film is that the narrative does not necessarily go where one would imagine it would. The version I saw was widescreen and the subtitles were mostly in the lower black of the letterboxing, which made them very easy to read. If you're in the mood for a little bit of action with a lot of good characterization and acting, check this one out.

PS: The French seem pretty hung up with threesomes, no?