La course du lièvre à travers les champs

Even before the film gets underway, we've had... a Freudian scene of children playing in a French street (one boy slices open another's bag of marbles, which tumble down some steps), a shot of drum majorettes marching round a Canadian field, a full-blown homage to Sergio Leone, a couple of Lewis Carroll references, and some near-subliminal freeze-frames of dead children in black-and-white. And all this before the opening credits have finished.

"La course du lièvre..." is a film bristling with tantalising ideas, not all of which are fully resolved or explained. One major theme is that of childhood and games, though the point that René Clément seems to be making, that we are all just big children, is perhaps less interesting than the fun he has expressing it. At its simplest level, this is a slightly tongue-in-cheek Western-style caper movie; for much of the time we can even forget that we're in modern-day Montreal, as the long middle section in which Jean-Louis Trintignant's enigmatic "Froggy" is gradually accepted into Robert Ryan's gang is set in and around a backwoods cabin that wouldn't be out of place in a Peckinpah movie.

Though Trintignant and Ryan are never less than fascinating to watch, particularly in their scenes together as the power balance gradually shifts between them, this is one of those films (unlike Clément's "Plein soleil") where the whole really doesn't go beyond the sum of the parts. It's a film to enjoy for the intelligence and inventiveness of the script, and above all for the virtuosic flair of Clément's direction, particularly in the long chase sequence immediately following the credits, starting with Trintignant leaping off a moving train and ending with him pushing a man out of a moving car. The heist scene later on, involving a fire engine inside a skyscraper, is actually a little disappointing, the consequence perhaps of the director trying a little too hard to achieve a "wow" response.

Ryan, by the way, had such difficulty learning the French dialogue for this film, that Clément gave him gibberish lines to speak, just so that he could get the mouth movements right for later dubbing (Aldo Ray, on the other hand, learnt his lines phonetically). Watch out for Emmanuelle Béart's uncredited film début as "girl eating cake" during the opening sequence.

René Clément's LA COURSE DU LIÈVRE À TRAVERS LES CHAMPS/AND HOPE TO DIE is based on the David Goodis novel "Black Friday." Jean-Louis Trintignant (A MAN AND A WOMAN, THE CONFORMIST) stars as Tony, who arrives at a train station outside Montreal where several gypsies are waiting for him (a moment shot and scored like a Sergio Leone film, complete with the pan pipe accompaniment); although their comments are cryptic, we understand that a deal has gone sour, and the gypsies want Tony to settle the balance in blood. Eluding them, Tony manages to get into the city, where he witnesses the shooting death of gangster Renner (Louis Aubert), who passes him $15,000 in cash and makes even more cryptic comments, telling Tony that "Toboggan" has committed suicide, and that "Charley thinks he's smarter than the others."

Apprehended, Tony is led away from this scene by two men he believes to be cops; when they drive him out into the country, he realizes he's being kidnapped and pushes one of the men, Paul, out of the car, mortally injuring him. Recaptured and brought to an unused country hotel, Tony is introduced to an outlaw gang led by Charley Ellis (Robert Ryan), a career criminal who has spent ten of the last fifteen years in jail, and Charley's associates - Rizzio (Jean Gaven, also in Clément's LA PASSAGER DE LA PLUIE/RIDER ON THE RAIN), ex-boxer Mattone (Aldo Ray, in one of his last decent parts), the sultry Sugar (Lea Massari, from Sergio Leone's IL COLOSSO DI RODI and Antonioni's L'AVVENTURA) and the near feral Pepper (Tisa Farrow, in her second film), sister to the dying Paul. Knowing that Tony (whom he calls "Froggy") has his money, Charley doesn't kill the stranger, who soon bonds with the gang. When Paul dies, Tony gives up the cash to be allowed to join the gang to help finance his escape to Australia.

The caper is the kidnapping of a government witness - a mobster's moll who goes by the name of Toboggan. Only Charley - and Tony - know that the woman is dead - but they decide to go through with the plan, collect the reward from the underworld for delivering the witness and to get out of the country before anyone's wise.

AND HOPE TO DIE is an odd, unsatisfying but compelling little film. Released in November of 1972 with a PG rating, it has neither graphic violence or sexuality, but offers an endearing cast of supporting players. Near the end of his life, Robert Ryan (who died of cancer in 1973), breathes and spits world weariness, alternatively even-tempered and explosive - the kind of thug who creeps you out more by smiling than scowling. Jean-Louis Trintignant was in a transitional phase here between his stint as Euro smoothie (AND GOD CREATED WOMAN, LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES) and character actor (CONFIDENTIALLY YOURS, UNDER FIRE); we never quite know what's up with Tony - although he pleads to the murderous gypsies that he's "just a bookseller," he occasionally flashes on the black and white image of a child who is either sleeping or dead - we never quite know what this means. Ray, Gaven and Massari are all great as the more seasoned gang members, and Tisa Farrow is typically awkward as Pepper, but certainly believable as the "unsophisticated" girl-child. Emmanuelle Béart is briefly glimpsed as a young child.

Francis Lai (A MAN AND A WOMAN, LOVE STORY) contributes a melancholy score that glides from ominous lower strings to pan pipe interludes and guitar melodies evoking sadness and disappointment - a recurring motiff quotes "I Love Paris In The Springtime." Cinematographer Edmond Richard had previously filmed Orson Welles' CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT and DON QUIXOTE, and would go on to shoot THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE and THAT OBSCURE OBJECT OF DESIRE. Second assistant director Jean-Jacques Beineix would go on to greater glory by directing DIVA (1981) and BETTY BLUE; in 1972, Beineix would also serve as second AD on the infamous Jerry Lewis film THE DAY THE CLOWN CRIED, and tried his hand at his own Goodis adaptation with the poorly received THE MOON IN THE GUTTER.

Clément and screenwriter Sébastien Japrisot (who had also scripted Clément's LA PASSAGER DE LA PLUIE, and wrote the novel "The Lady In The Car With The Glasses And The Gun") start this tragic story with a quote from Lewis Carroll: "We are but older children dear/Who fret to find our bedtime near," and bracket the action with scenes of children playing in the streets of Paris. We are made to identify these children with the gang members (indeed, several of them have clothing or activities that force the parallels); ultimately, it's difficult to tell if these children are the gang members when young or if it's merely a way of showing the universality of human behavior.

It's not a coincidence that "La Course Du Lievre A Travers Les Champs" opens with a Lewis Carroll quote: this picture has more in common with "Alice In Wonderland" than any caper film (the genre it technically belongs to). It is an extremely offbeat, wildly unconventional film, with a nightmarish, surrealistic quality: there is hardly a frame or a line of dialogue in it that is "normal" or predictable. It is way too drawn-out in its storytelling to be wholly successful (the wheels of the plot are not set in motion until the last quarter (!) of its 141-minute running time), but it's certainly a unique experience. Great international cast, with a stunning contrast between exotic beauty Lea Massari and girl-next-door beauty Tisa Farrow. **1/2 out of 4.

I have always loved this movie, since the first time I saw it, during the late seventies. First because of the story and characters, and of course thanks of the Francis Lai's superb score, so sad, so melancholic, in the perfect mood of the story. The tale of characters facing their fate, their doom, fighting in a struggle lost in advance. I am not surprised that 90% of audiences don't like this feature, even the old timers like me. I don't even speak of modern audiences. I can't explain the link between the kid's sequences, in the beginning and the very end, and the adult's ones. Is the young kid Jean Louis Trintignant's character when he was a child? Robert Ryan, at his ever peak, one year before his death. yes, I love this film.

It's not very good. I expected a surrealistic, bizarre movie based on the reviews i read here. Instead, i saw a drama movie with some laughable action scenes, more weird than surrealistic. Almost the whole movie is about Trintignant's interaction with the rest of the gang. I saw similarities with Paolini's Theorema, for some reason, this character enticed most of the gang. And this was unrealistic as hell, because he had zero seductive qualities, he was not even good with words.

But the worst part was his background. Absolutely ridiculous.

Yet, i gave it a somewhat high rating. It was interesting all the way until the ending. Whereas it didn't make much sense, i was kinda invested. Actors did a good job giving depth to those characters, and the whole interaction between them, was enjoyable to watch. Action scenes were laughabla but still, i was curious to see where it goes, and they were intense.

This is an enjoyable movie. Running time was about 140 minutes, not 99 minutes as it says here. Maybe i saw another longer version of this. In any case, this is definitely not a movie which every fan of this genre should watch, but if you lower your expectations, you'll probably enjoy it: Being a fan of French cinema, helps a lot.