Que la bête meure

Don't get me wrong, I love classic cinema. Hawks, Ford, Wilder, Hitchcock, you name it.

But the fact that a film is old, in black and white and with good photography doesn't mean that it's good. The way this film is put together is representative of a very naive and simple-minded way of storytelling.

The main culprit (though not the only one), is the script. Characters are not believably defined, it's all broad strokes. The main concern is the plot, instead of the humans that make it move. And the structure, while risky, has its problems too.

I can offer some examples of this:

1) When the hero woos Linda, there is nothing playful about the way he does it. Instead, he merely overflatters her. He makes himself look silly, in no way charming. This man is supposed to be intelligent.

2) Later in the film, when Rattery mistreats Linda, who is supposed to be the hero's girlfirend, he witnesses it and does nothing about it. And Linda basically accepts it.

3) At the beggining of the movie, we have a scene between a lawyer, called Nigel, and his girlfriend. It's a very long scene whose only purpose is to give us plot information. The girlfriend is never seen again, and the Nigel character is almost irrelevant to the plot.

There's good cinematography here and there, but the technique at times is also quite clumsy. There is a scene where a woman is shaking up a child, and the way it's shot and edited, it feels completely awkward. In some shots the child doesn't move but shouts off-camera, and the scene feels unreal.

Most of the performances are very broad, a lot of the times the plot moves via uninteresting and unsubtle dialogue, and the characters are simply not clearly defined. Rattery is simply a very bad person, there's very little that we can say about him, aside from that. And the hero is, well, a perfect guy: smart, elegant, well-natured... There are no nuances, no moral ambiguites, nothing. So it all plays like an old fashioned mystery stage play, where everything is naive, dumb and phony.

Ibáñez Menta, of course, was a great actor, but he didn't have a clear charater to play here, and as a leading man he's terribly unattractive.

Narciso Ibáñez Menta is the widowed father of a son. Although a mathematician, since the death of his wife, he has made his living by writing pulpy mysteries under a pseudonym. When the boy is killed in a traffic accident, he plots the driver's death.... and the driver dies by poison. Menta has a perfect alibi.

The first adaptation of Cecil Day Lewis' novel shows some interesting parallels to Day Lewis' life, although he was not, so far as I can tell, implicated in a murder. The distinguished poet, who became the Laureate in 1968 wrote mysteries under the pseudonym of 'Nicholas Blake. The movie is a clear film noir, with lots of foggy night scenes and a major flashback, visually interesting and with a nice degree of sexual heat running through it, that Chabrol's later version muted.

I caught this on TCM's Noir Alley with Eddie Muller, thanks to its restoration. What an entertaining film all around. This movie is one of those examples of when every aspect comes together for a cohesive offering.

The story is cool, enough so it's been remade not only into a French film but also into a British TV series, neither of which I've seen. The direction and editing are superb. The acting is genuine. The cinematography, music, costuming, makeup, lighting, etc., all blend together quite seamlessly.

I agree with the reviewer mentioning the subtitles being difficult to impossible to read during certain frames. After a while, I simply had to rewind to try to discern what the words were or just plain "let it go" and try my best to figure it out by context.

Although I would classify this is a must for die-hard noir fans, I would highly recommend it to someone who either likes foreign film or, well, just a darn good film!

I knew Flicker Alley had restored this, so I was anxious to see it. It's an Argentine film based on a novel about a crime novelist widower whose young son is the center of his world. When the boy is killed by a hit and run driver - and worse he could have been saved if the driver had stopped and gotten help - he goes on his own search to find the killer and kill him himself. But all of his trails go cold. And then, in a really fantastic and unbelievable turn, he gets a lead. And I'll just leave specifics of the plot at that.

The original novel, according to Eddie Muller on TCM's Noir Alley, had the diary of the avenging father first, and what turns into a murder mystery later. How do you adapt that to film? I think it was done quite artfully. The acting, especially of the two child actors, was well done and the production values are quite high. There were a few things that were surprises to me. Apparently in 1952 Argentina it was considered an intrusion to stop a man from beating his wife? And there was some Christian symbolism, especially at the end, that seemed rather odd.

I will say one bad thing about the restoration. The picture and sound are wonderful, but the English subtitles are white. Thus there are lots of times, when they are superimposed on a light image, that they are difficult or impossible to read. And dialogue is a big part of this film. Still I'd recommend it as something you'd never see coming out of the American studio system of the same year.

Very simply, it's a sin that 'The beast must die' (or as the Spanish title would have it, 'La bestia debe morir') isn't more well known - this is an absolutely incredible film noir, handily matching the best of Hollywood or any comparable industry. Accordingly co-written between hard-working star Narciso Ibáñez Menta and director Román Viñoly Barreto, the adapted screenplay is truly outstanding - rich, dynamic, charged, and rife with robust detail in all regards. Characters are wonderfully deep and complex, and the dialogue is fantastically brilliant - sharp, and clever. Scenes are exquisitely arranged - finding the perfect balance between what to show, and what to withhold, as to build marvelous uneasy tension and suspense. And the narrative is superbly engrossing - compelling, and deftly weaving in impactful emotional beats and just enough mystery to keep us unsure of just how it will all unfold.

The cast is exceptional in bringing their characters to life. Each and every actor demonstrates great range and nuance - even the child actors - and even in parts with much less time on screen. Jorge Rattery is a truly despicable villain, one of the worst devils I've seen in a movie, and Guillermo Battaglia embodies him with immediately loathsome spite in every word and action, and even in presence alone. Linda Lawson is a troubled woman caught at an unenviable crossroads, and Laura Hidalgo inhabits the role with fabulous poise and emotional breadth. Though not seen quite as much, it's also well worth mentioning Milagros de la Vega and Beba Bidart, both bringing a certain conniving viciousness in very different ways to their respective roles as Señora Rattery and Rhoda, respectively. And then of course there's Ibáñez Menta. In realizing protagonist Felix Lane, Ibáñez Menta illustrates profound, calculated subtlety and poise, feeling everything but betraying very little. Lane is a man of very careful intelligence - and clearly, so is Ibáñez Menta; so naturally does he slide into the role that one may at times forget the portrayal and the player are not one and the same. Hats off to them all!

Great care is put into every little aspect - set design and decoration, hair, makeup, costume design, and so on. A few instances with especially strong consideration for lighting, editing, or effects are done very well. And it's all tied together with a keen eye from Viñoly Barreto in his capacity as director, with some especially great shots making use of unconventional angles, close-ups, and more. The screenplay itself and the whole cast do so much to bring the picture to fruition, but Viñoly Barreto can surely also be credited with helping to draw out such excellent performances, and ensuring 'The beast must die' turned out as the wonderfully affecting, absorbing, satisfying tale that it is.

I find it difficult to write more without going in circles or revealing plot points. It was really only by chance that I came across this; Argentinean cinema isn't exactly a common sight in the US in any way. I'm so glad I did, though - it's clear that the production was approached with substantial passion and fastidiousness from everyone involved, and their dedication paid off handsomely. Once again: I think this stands tall with the best film noir that any country's film industry to offer, and it's hard not to think that it's broadly overlooked simply on account of originating from the global south. With all this having been said, it's a terrible mistake to pass on watching 'The beast must die' if you have the chance - wherever and however you can, this is well worth your time. Very highly recommended!