Encontros Cruzados

I came on this DVD in the bargain-department of a DVD-shop. For its price of 4 euros, I decided I could not go wrong in purchasing it. The design of its sleeve attracted me, as well as the names of Mireille Darc, Alain Delon and Claude Brasseur. Names that guaranteed a minimum-level of quality in the French cinema during the second half of the last century.

And yes, while watching it turned out that I guessed right. 'Les seins de glace' (= French for 'the breasts of ice') is a very Seventies French thriller. Outdated now, but its charm & tense clearly haven't got lost. And yes again, I also know better thrillers than this one, but that does not qualify 'Les seins de glace' as bad.

Styling and picturing are up to the standards of 1974. The plot of 'Les Seins de Glace' may not be complete but makes sense, and the film is carried on well by Brasseur, Darc and Delon. They make you a pleasant watch.

When French superstar Alain Delon turned to producing his own vehicles, he opted to tackle more serious subjects (usually of some social relevance) – if, shrewdly, still within the framework of a commercial property. I recently watched him in TWO MEN IN TOWN (1973), where he played a Jean Valjean-like ex-convict hounded by a stern police inspector.

This one stays even more within the conventions of the thriller genre (it was adapted from a Richard Matheson novel) while trying to portray the genuine case history of a female homicidal maniac; unfortunately, lead actress Mireille Darc (Delon's then-current partner, with whom she was paired a number of times) isn't up to the requirements of the role, dispelling any form of comparison with Catherine Deneuve's far more successful turn in REPULSION (1965). Co-star Claude Brasseur, then, is usually a fine actor but his character here comes across as too much of a buffoon – so that he lacks the strength to adequately deploy the essential animosity towards Delon's typically suave and apparently all-powerful lawyer! Nicoletta Macchiavelli, however, scores in the smallish role of Delon's long-suffering wife; he's in love with Darc, whom he had defended while on trial for her husband's murder.

Philippe Sarde contributes the melancholy and giallo-tinged score – in fact, the film features a swift aggression in a darkened parking-lot and a couple of murders (both occurring off-screen, though we're shown their graphic aftermath). Incidentally, while the title itself would suggest an erotic thriller (of a type which would soon become fashionable in Hollywood – BASIC INSTINCT [1992], BODY OF EVIDENCE [1993], COLOR OF NIGHT [1994], etc.), nudity is only present in one scene towards the end! The finale, then, is interesting if somewhat too abrupt (not to say, melodramatic).

My copy of this film has the uninspired title, Someone is Bleeding, which didn't seem very appropriate, and then I realised that the French title translates as Breasts of Ice, which just about makes sense. unhappy with either title I discover that the original novel by Richard Matheson was entitled, Someone is Bleeding. This is long out of print and almost impossible to obtain so I am unable to discover whether this is a faithful adaptation but have no reason to doubt it and am left pondering that maybe this was one of the great writers lesser works. Because the thing is, this is one of those films the Italians loved to make around the same time. Someone is going mad or are they and is someone trying to drive them mad or trying to help them? Can be good and with the giallo type film there would always be plenty of action to keep you occupied as you struggle to sort things out. Here the main protagonists are fine and Delon remains sufficiently poker faced throughout to just about keep us guessing but there just isn't enough to prevent this becoming just a little annoying. Well paced, decently shot and good performances all round, just could have done with a little Italian raciness instead of the rather dour French.

It looks like an American film noir from the forties with Mireille Darc instead of Lizabeth Scott or Jane Greer and Claude Brasseur instead of Arthur Kennedy or Dick Powell. It remains French in the making, action, editing, atmosphere but remains effective, and above all dark. Brasseur is rather good in the lead male character. The director George Lautner was a great comedies specialist, but when he tried something different, he succeeded as well: LES SEINS DE GLACE, LE PACHA, LE PROFESSIONEL.... The trademark of a good film maker for me. The biggest surprise here is of course the ending that only a few could predict.

I was shocked to see what a low opinion users of IMDb had of this film. It has the lowest vote score I've come across! But I suppose it depends of your taste in thrillers. This is a P.D.James-type psychological thriller, where despite an overall air of menace it's hard to guess who the villains are - until the end, of course. For example, there are various tough, silent 'gorillas': are they hoodlums and hitmen (Boo! Hiss!), or are they devoted, loyal bodyguards (Hurray!)? Even when it's apparent who's been murdering folk, the puzzle of how everyone else fits into the picture remains. Claude Brasseur plays, with cheeky charm, a TV script-writer, who falls for a mysterious and beautiful blond (Mireille Darc) he finds walking on the winter beach. He is the only character free of suspicion in what follows - which I can't discuss without giving away the story. It reminded me of "After Pilkington", Simon Gray's powerful psycho-thriller, in which Bob Peck found himself similarly tied up with a mysterious (and beautiful) Miranda Richardson. In fact, both films end in the same way (as does "Of Mice and Men"); perhaps it is this ending that is not to the taste of those who gave it only one vote. If so, what would they have made of the end of "Of Mice and Men"? Give it a try, anyway; it kept me involved throughout. Not the greatest thriller, but worth more than the vote here suggests.