Le Rapace

I have always thought that José Giovanni's early efforts ("La Loi du Survivant" "Dernier Domicile Connu" "Deux Hommes dans la Ville ") were his best.His heroes were jaded men,whose fight was lost before the story began.

Take "Dernier Domicile Connu" :Lino Ventura and Marlene Jobert play two cops;the woman is a rookie full of illusions whereas the older cop has lost all his ones .

The precedent movie "Le Rapace" pits an idealist,Chico,against a mercenary (Ventura) in an imaginary South America dictatorship.The splendid cinematography ,a sense of exoticism and above all,François de Roubaix's marvelous score (and song in Spanish) makes this film an admirable adventures movie ,to rival the best of John Huston.