Les héros sont fatigués

Another good movie trashed by the -don't-bother-the-new-wave-is around-the- corner French critics,like so many others in the fifties .Main reason is ,should we believe them, the two principals' (Montand and Jurgens) third-rate acting;Montand was much worse in later works and his co-star won a prize for best actor for his performance .

Although it's an adventures movie,influenced by John Huston -the diamonds playing the same role as the Maltese Falcon or the treasure of the Sierra Madre - ,it achieves the feat of taking place almost entirely in a seedy hotel in Africa ,where a lot of people down on their luck have ended up ,a situation not unlike that in Billy Wilder's "fives graves to Cairo" ,with the same cosmopolitanism ;and ,this is a thing to underline,everybody speaks his own language (French,English,German,African) and to put the French audience in the same situation as the hero,there are no subtitles,which was particularly risqué in the fifties .

Aside from the (very short) sequence when Montand goes out of the jungle and the impressive finale which belongs to Jean Servais who here steals the show with a feverish crazy performance ,everything happens in the hotel rooms where the (tired :that's what the title means)heroes sweat -few directors can have their audience sweat too;the movie which comes to mind is Yves Allégret's "Les Orgueilleux").But what makes this movie memorable is the depiction of Christmas night in an African dump: one third of the movie is given over to these mad scenes , posh black people dancing to the tune of the Blue Danube whilst the others are faithful to their ancestral tribal dances,Gert "Goldfinger" Froebe ( fatter than ever)breaking into "Stille Nacht ,Heilige Nacht",Maria Felix's quivering sensuality and Servais ,eaten with desire ,destroying the the last chance boat while singing "Il Etait Un Petit Navire...." (there was once little ship which had never been to sea).In its own way ,it compares favorably with Von Stenberg's sensational depiction of New Year's Eve in "the Shanghai Gesture".

Yves Ciampi made few movies ,many of which are undistinguished ("Un Grand Patron" "Typhon Sur Nagasaki"),but this one and "Qui Etes Vous Monsieur Sorge?" ,are notable exceptions.

This could hardly be ranked as a classic of French cinema but director Yves Ciampi has the services of master cinematographer Henri Alekan and top notch leading players.

Surly Yves Montand falls for sultry Maria Felix and who could blame him!

He agrees to sell stolen diamonds to the ever-so-charming Curt Jurgens but their scheme is scuppered by crackpot Jean Servais who is obsessed with Maria......

Herr Jurgen's performance won him a Volpi Cup, for which he tied with Kenneth More. Also featured is Gert Frobe who, like Jurgens, was to have the distinction, if one can call it that, of playing a Bond villain. The film really belongs to Servais whose manic performance is mesmerising. Five years later, in Bunuel's 'Fever mounts in El Pao', he was again to lust after La Dona Maria. This is one of three French films that this fascinating female made at about this time, the best of which is indisputably Renoir's 'French Can-Can'.

What can one possibly say about Monsieur Montand? His early experiences in front of the camera were not entirely happy but with maturity he became one of France's finest. His performance as Mario in Clouzot's 'Wages of Fear' made him an obvious choice here.

Suffice to say Yves Ciampi is not in the same league as the three directors mentioned above but he does his best with the material at his disposal and the film gradually builds in tension and momentum, climaxing in an exciting scene in a swamp(where else!)

The final shot of Montand and Jurgens emerging from the swamp to the accompaniment of Beethoven's Fifth is inspired and obviously designed to reflect Franco-German rapprochement.

In Heroes and Sinners, Yves Montand stars as a pilot who finds himself in North Africa after WWII. He's a bit of a drifter, and there's nothing really to do there except hang out in bars and frequent prostitutes. He starts a relationship with María Félix, but she's popular and her other clients are extremely jealous and dangerous. The main plot concerns a diamond heist, though, not a love triangle. Yves gets approached to smuggle a lot of diamonds, but he decides instead to team up with Curd Jurgens and steal them for his own profits. Already, in 1955, Curd commanded a special credit for his participation in this French movie. If you're an Yves fan, you might not pay Curd any attention, but if you get seduced by the strong, manly presence, Yves might lose his luster.

This movie was surprisingly violent. I thought it would just be a regular jewel heist movie, but there are some gruesome scenes and blood coming from stab wounds, which was unusual at that time period. There's also a strong culture-clash element to this story; to some it might feel uneven, but others might find it immersive in the environment. In several scenes, "civilized" Africa is shown dressed up at a party, ballroom dancing, and drinking punch out of crystal goblets - and the natives are shown outside dancing and performing tribal customs. All in all, I wouldn't really recommend this one unless all the elements in this review appeal to you. If you're just looking for a good French drama or a post-war flick, you can do better.

Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to violence, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.