Braços Vazios

The powerful charisma and smouldering appeal of the legendary French actor are what carries this movie and keeps you watching. This was his third after À BOUT DE SOUFFLE, the Godard film that made him an international star. A bit like his character in that film, Paul (Belmondo) is a cad in this one. He sees women as disposable, using them for whatever his need may be, then quickly moving on. In one scene he even spells out this M. O. to a male friend. We can watch, and enjoy to some extent because, well, he's Belmondo. Some of the women in we see are blasé about his antics, but one is hurt and downright brokenhearted about his behavior. That's Alexandra Stewart, as Véra, who is pretty good in the film as are Sylva Koscina (very glamorous Arabelle) and Dany, played by Eva Damien. But more was needed to give the film a plot, so there is Paul's old wartime friend Laurent (Claude Brasseur) who causes the death of a policeman and is on the run. Paul's motivation is to help Laurent at almost any cost, and that involves coercing one of the women (Dany) to hide Laurent in her home.

It's not clear why the English language title for this is TRAPPED BY FEAR; seems the original French DISTRACTIONS would be suitable enough. As Paul rushes around in aid of his friend, he certainly gets distracted, however briefly, by the females. The movie does progress from fairly light-hearted to deadly serious by the end, so it does have a dramatic trajectory. Not a masterwork (and NOT Film Noir), but recommended to fans of the star.

"Les distractions" (what a title!)illustrates the point that Dupont is trying to imitate the big boys of the New Wavelet, and there is nothing new under the sun.A director from the "old wave" would have done this film very much the same way,except that the screenplay would have been tighter and more to the point;to this end ,Claude Brasseur deserves great recognition.Of all the actors ,he seems to be the least impressed with himself (the frames of mind and the existentialist torments)and he consequently turns in what is the most consistent and best performance in the movie:a jaded campaigner of a dirty war (the Algerian War),down on his luck and reduced to find some food in a pig's trough,the film could have been moving and successful ,had the screenplay focused on his character.

Unfortunately,too much time is given over to Belmondo's amorous adventures .A heart breaker,he seduces every girl around ,and one of them (a wasted Alexandra Stewart) is really in love with him ,and he doesn't care ,and... All this is N.V . filler ,with its almost arrogant cult of youth.Male friendship which was Melville's trademark in the fifties and the sixties isn't even properly treated here.

Like this? try this....

Le Belle Vie ,Robert Enrico ,1962

"Les Distractions" (1960) offers more....distractions that whatever they are supposed to be distracting from. At that period in time, Jean-Paul Belmondo was at the top of the world, and he is charismatic here too, but the women surrounding him are purely decorative (with the little-known Eva Damien probably leaving the strongest impression). The film is technically well-done, with a nice Parisian flavor, but not nearly special enough to overcome the cliched material: the man on the run for an accidental murder, the male friendship built on the Algerian front, the "sentimental" woman who wants to "tie down" the reckless Belmondo. ** out of 4.