Mort d'un pourri

A political thriller around a notebook. Murders, secret society, cops , a sort of hero looking for the name of the killer of his friend, crumbs of a romance and a beautiful cast. Corruption and image of justice. Beautiful confrontation between Klaus Kinki and Alain Delon and a young Ornela Mutti. Alain Delon as indestructible Xav , reminding , in some measure, Charles Bronson characters and the bitter end. Maybe, a film for nostalgics because the truths defined by story, present today, in same measure, has another taste. But, sure, delightful.

This film from the seventies, MORT D'UN POURRI (DEATH OF A CORRUPT MAN), was produced by and stars Alain Delon , who was remarkably handsome and talented, as everyone knows (or at least, as everyone knew, now that so much time has passed). It is a spectacularly well directed film by Georges Lautner, and the cinematography is equally stunning. The film is one of those French classics which are being restored nowadays in France and issued as Blu-Rays, accompanied by a DVD for those who cannot play Blu-Rays. This is one of the many such films which have now been issued with English subtitles. The film goes more deeply into the profundity and pervasiveness of French political corruption than most of the many French films on that subject. An outstanding modern example of the genre is the hair-raising TELL NO ONE (2006, see my review). The French are obsessed, and for good reason, with the corruption which pervades their government and society like rich seams of black coal running through a strip mine. So pervasive is corruption in France at the highest levels that one is tempted to say: 'There could be no recognisable France without corruption.' A morally clean French Government is as inconceivable as is a cesspool filled with pure spring water. Whereas political thrillers in America tend to portray corruption as an aberration, French films more often portray it as an intrinsic rot, like a leper displaying his disintegrating limb. Delon's old chum Philippe Dubaye, a Deputy in the French Parliament, comes to him in the middle of the night, while Delon is in bed with his adoring girlfriend (Mirielle Darc), and says something really terrible has happened. He has killed another Deputy in the Parliament. Without hesitation, Delon offers to help clean up the mess, but the mess becomes messier and more people are killed, as the ripples of corruption widen on the surface of the political pond. Every which way Delon turns, there are people being murdered, commencing with his close friend Philippe. After this, he becomes obsessed with discovering who killed him, which leads him into increasingly desperate dangers. He then befriends Phlippe's girlfriend, played by Ornetta Muti, who had the biggest and most alluring bedroom eyes in the film business at that time. When she looks at a man, he feels the heat as if someone has turned on the grill. Muti then effortlessly dominates the screen with all of her emanations of sex appeal, with the camera lovingly dwelling on her simmering looks. More and more outrageous attempts are made to try and murder Delon, who keeps scraping through impossible ambushes, such as cars falling on top of him. The dialogue was written by Michel Audiard, who also was a director himself. The twists and turns and multiple spiders' webs multiply faster than a spider can scuttle up a wall. The sinister air of menace is greatly heightened by the subtle performance of Klaus Kinski as one of the most powerful bad guys. This certainly is a cracking yarn, and is real edge of the seat stuff.

Terrific cast, lovely score and views of Paris, but Georges Lautner was always a mediocre director and it shows badly here with a very challenging script including many monologues and action scenes (a couple of car chases).

Delon as a producer-actor is always the same type: boring, verging on irritating hyper-cool hyper-straight... a supercharged common man. Since the dozen top actors in the supporting cast are all excellent (despite the pedestrian directing) it does not bog down the movie. But the heavy dialogue about political corruption all-around does put the movie in a merry-go-round that lasts for two hours. Not really my idea of a sharp noir.

The car chases (Rémi Julienne) are well-paced but kind of repetitive. Nice try to have one with trucks but it does not add much to the movie. All in all the 'irremediably corrupt political landscape' subtext is nicely impregnating the whole movie, thanks to Michel Audiard, but it gives a damp movie, like a fine pastry dumped for too long in an alcohol-laced preparation.

"The Death of a Corrupt Man" is an outstanding French thriller with elements of the political and psych thriller, gangster movies and the typical conspiracy films of the seventies. Casted with some of the best European actors of that time - Alain Delon, Ornela Muti, Stephane Audran, Mireille Darc and madman Klaus Kinski - it tells the story of a big conspiracy with a corrupt politician getting rid of all his opponents. Now it's lawyer Alain Delon's turn to fight the power. Of course he's becoming the target of some killers soon, a wild hunt begins where several people lose their lives until Delon finds the real villain. The pacing is fast, the plot twisted and thrilling, and the really good actors and clever direction add much impact to this powerful thriller with some furious action scenes including a great truck chase. If you get a video or DVD copy of that film or find it in your TV guide, watch it!

When Xavier 'Xav' Maréchal (Alain Delon) is awaken by his old friend Deputy Philippe Dubaye (Maurice Ronet), he learns that Philippe has killed the also politician Serrano (Charles Moulin) that has a dossier with documents proving the corruption of several politicians and businessmen including Philippe and was blackmailing him. Xavier accepts to provide an alibi to his friend and to follow the investigation to help Phillippe, who has stolen the dossier. But soon Xavier finds that a network of powerful men wants to retrieve the documents and he has to run to survive.

"Mort d'un pourri", a.k.a. "Death of a Corrupt Man", is a thriller based on politics and the related corruption of the Powers That Be. The plot is full of action with a hopeless conclusion. The beauty of Ornella Muti is impressive. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Morte de um Corrupto" ("The Death of a Corrupt Man")