Grisbi

"Grisbi" is a true classic...... Highly influential French noir/crime thriller/drama....shamefully obscure & undeservedly overlooked until now...Criterion DVD finally released in January....actually kinda ruined my evening..I had planned on watching another movie after this one..but I didn't want to let this one out of my head yet,..it was that good. 1954 Paris sparkles in glorious black & white..Jean Gabin & the whole cast, including a very young & relatively unknown Jeanne Moreau, is wonderful..Jacque Becker's direction is impeccable.

The great Jean Gabin stars as Max , an aging gangster, who, along with his longtime friend & partner , Riton , has pulled one last job and intends to retire as soon as it's safe to cash in the millions in gold bullion they have stolen. Max is an anachronism...his style, moral code, honor & ways are caught up in changing times...a theme that fans of some of the best American Westerns will recognize in this film...

It'a an absorbing , character-driven story...leading to a lonely highway with guns drawn ..trying to keep from losing everything. Highly recommended.

For fans of American gangster films, Jacque Becker's TOUCHEZ PAS AU GRISBI may seem like a radical departure from the violence and excess of films like THE GODFATHER and GOODFELLAS. It's a quiet film about quiet men, living out their golden years in a dignified manner. Much of the film is spent watching Max (Jean Gabin) as he dines with friends, cavorts with his mistresses and listens to his favorite tune on his old record player. The amazing thing about the film is that there's never any question that Max can be a dangerous man. There's a famous scene where Max and his long-time partner Riton (Rene Dary) eat pate, set up their sleeping quarters, dress in their pajamas and go to sleep without exchanging a word. There's an amazing, soft tension playing through this entire scene. Riton has screwed up a business deal, as he has done many times in the past, and Max is getting fed up. I was reminded throughout this scene of the famous line from GOODFELLAS about assassins coming as friends. This certainly would have been the right time for Max to whack Riton, if that were what he wanted. But he doesn't, because honor and loyalty are important aspects of Max's life, and he will protect his friend even though their big retirement job may be jeopardized. Max is, quite simply, the least Americanized gangster in film history, and he's a remarkable character. Jean Gabin solidifies his reputation as the greatest French film actor of all time through subtlety, nuance, and natural charisma. The film itself is painted with the rich black-and-white brush strokes of the best film noir, and truly succeeds in transporting the viewer to another place and time. A genuine, under-appreciated masterpiece.

Max(Jean Gabin) is a gentleman gangster with a penchant for nice suits and champagne and the brains of the criminal partnership, the other being his long time friend and partner in crime, Riton (René Dary),"the muscle" so to speak of their partnership, together they have just pulled off a substantial heist and are now 50 million francs better off in gold bars. Max likes the easy life of night clubs and restaurants, he isn't greedy and now intends to retire with his fortune, Riton agrees, but he inadvertently tells his young night club dancer girlfriend Josy (Jeanne Moreau)of his large stash of Grisbi(Loot/Swag), she has been two timing him with the much younger and very ambitious crook Angelo, Josy of course informs him and using this knowledge Angelo sets out to take it from Max. Max suspicious that he is being followed confides in Riton that something is about to happen,he also tells his old friend how he discovered Josy's infidelity, Riton is furious and leaves Max's safe haven to take revenge on his younger adversary.Riton ends up in a trap and is kidnapped by Angelo, demanding Max release the gold as ransom. Touchez pas au grisbi isn't so much an action crime flic as it is a no action one, we never get to see the heist or the every day violence of the criminal fraternity, Becker's film is much more about the silences between the crimes and the everyday mundaneness of the criminals life, their conversations, their dining habits etc… this ploy is all the more effective when the film explodes at its climax with the type of violence you would expect of a typical Crime film. A forerunner of Dassin's Rififi or more obviously Melville's Bob Le Flambeur, Touchez pas au Grisbi is a fine film that some might find a little dull, but its romantic vision of Parisien criminal lives is still very intriguing and a welcome alternative to the stereotypical hoods of the genre. Gabin is nothing short of superb as the aging gangster, willing to give up his position and power for the easy life, his relationship with his loyal friend Riton is more like that of a married couple who are still friends after many years together but ultimately wonder why they ever got together, we are only given one glimpse of Max's rage towards his friend in a brief voice over, where Max lets fly at his companions stupidity, that might cost them both their lives and their Grisbi, other than that Max is a cool operator, nothing fazes him, even as the plot thickens and a quick response is required to save Riton's life, Max is just as easy going as he always is, he might just as easily be at home brushing his teeth or folding his pyjamas again, we never quite know what Max is thinking. The understated pate eating scene is superbly orchestrated by Becker ,there is hardly any dialogue but through gestures and eye movements, we learn an awful lot about their relationship…..Touchez pas au Grisbi in the hands of Becker is both elegant and evocative and a pleasure to behold and as French Noir goes its right up there with the best.

Max and Riton are ageing gangsters who are trying to 'retire' after their latest big heist. Early on in a night club scene, Max intimates he would rather go home and sleep as he is tiring of night-clubbing and the late hours. Riton, his best and oldest friend, is trying to stay youthful, although unknown to him, he is getting cuckolded by a younger man right there at the club.

The bond between the friends is insoluble, even though they grouse inwardly about each other. If you ever had a lifetime friend, you will instantly connect with these two - you will just know the link. Anyway, without giving too much away, another crook wants to muscle in on their windfall with an undeserved split via the extortion route. That's all I can tell you, but get the DVD.

Max (played by the great Jean Gabin) has a secret pad, and to avoid trouble, invites Riton to stay overnight. These two are such old friends that, in a scene as humorous as it is tinged with melancholy, Max produces a pair of pajamas and a toothbrush for his old pal (remember sleepovers with a friend?).

The film takes a while to get underway, and all the action is toward the end of the picture, but you can overlook the pacing as it is an unforgettable homage to friendship and advancing age. Adding to the generational disconnect is the use of obsolete slang, as when Max calls someone 'Daddy-O' (Actually, it must have fit better in its initial release in 1954, but seems completely out-of-date now).

"Touchez Pas Au Grisbi" plays like a film noir/buddy picture and is thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining, Film buffs may recognize Jean Moreau as Riton's unfaithful girlfriend.

It would be nonsense to give an order of merit to the three cinematic masterpieces by director Jacques Becker. However, personally I love "Touchez pas au grisbi" even more than "Casque d'or" or "Le Trou". In "Touchez pas au grisbi" we find all we can ask from a Becker's film: splendid black-and-white cinematography, evocative, romantic atmosphere, brilliant script, stunning excellence of the actors' job. But here we get more: a tough, perfectly written gangster-story, swift pace and action blended with an outstanding psychological design.

The movie is mainly a story of friendship and honor. We have two old pals, two aged gangsters close to retire: Max (Jean Gabin), smart and clever, well aware that their best years are over, and Riton (Rene Dary), naive and rash, unable to accept the end of their youth, even dumb if you want, but extremely brave and devoted to his friend. Max is constantly grumbling against Riton and the troubles he causes. He scorns Riton's courage... brains and good sense, that's the important thing... But when it's the time for action, we see how deep and touching their friendship is, how ready they are to sacrifice themselves for each other. In other words, there are circumstances when only courage and honor count...

According to his usual style, Becker describes the world of criminals as a weird parallel of the world of "decent people". To be a gangster appears a job like another: a day at the office. See Max's poise and professional way, when he negotiates the value of the "grisbi" (the swag) with the receiver. And when Max is going to face a last-blood gang-war, he quietly leaves a large sum of money to a trusted bar-maid, in case of need "... to tip somebody (i.e. police or judges)... to fix possible problems... you know better..."

Inside a story narrated in the most understated way, Becker inserts unexpected explosions of violence. Take the owner of the Night Club, another old pal of Max's and Riton's. Poised, always silent, short, fat, with thick glasses, he seems the less harmful person. Yet, suddenly, and without a single word of comment, he starts to brutally beat a thug from a rival gang. And, with the machine-gun, he shows himself even tougher than Max and Riton.

Of course, the movie also offers a Gabin's trade-mark scene, when he slaps everybody, men and women as well. Great stuff: toughness mixed with sense of humour. Gabin's performance is at the highest level reached in a glorious career.

What else to add? "Touchez pas au grisbi" is a fantastic masterpiece. Moreover, I guess that this film is good for all tastes , which probably can't be said for other Becker's cinematic gems.