Adieu l'ami

Alain Delon and Charles Bronson star in "Farewell, Friend" also known as Honor Among Thieves. I believe this film was originally in French, but Delon and Bronson dubbed their own English.

The two men are home from the French Foreign Legion in North Africa. Franz Propp (Bronson) is a mercenary and invites Dino (Delon) to join him. Dino says no.

Figuring he has something interesting on the horizon, Propp starts following him around, which infuriates Dino. He's supposed to help a woman who was a friend of his buddy replace a huge amount of bonds in a safe over Christmas break.

The company she works for is in need of a doctor, which Dino is, and Dino takes the job and sets up a camera to record the numbers of the safe. He then finds out there is $2 million to be left there over Christmas. Unfortunately the camera only shows 3 numbers clearly of the combination.

Propp, of course, wants the money and won't leave the premises. The two stay in the basement of this building for the Christmas weekend, with Dino desperate to get rid of Propp most of the time.

They take turns trying safe combinations and as time goes on, play tricks on one another. Dino buys all the food in the vending machine and then hides it in a table; later, as they're hiding, guards take the table, thus leaving them both with no food.

They lock each other in and out of places. Then their room becomes a sweat box when they are locked in and Propp tries to go through a wall and cuts the air conditioning wires by accident. This gives them an opportunity to remove their shirts so we can see their bodies. Needless to say they both look great.

The questions are - can they open the safe, can they get out of the building when it opens on Tuesday, and the big one, can they live until Tuesday?

This film, which looked to be an adventure/heist type of thing is actually very funny. Bronson and Delon work beautifully together and have a lot of chemistry. And they do learn they have one thing in common - loyalty.

Someone said this film is slow - I didn't find it so. It's a real macho film with charming stars and a lot of humor. And the gorgeous Delon is given many closeups and at one point is in blue pajamas which emphasize his eyes.

I enjoyed it.

A clever script from the late SEBASTIAN JAPRISOT and smart performances from the two male leads - ALAIN DELON and CHARLES BRONSON (or should it be the other way around) result in an engaging and entertaining thriller.

Add to the above the competent direction from veteran JEAN HERMAN and a sparse but effective score by FRANCOIS DE ROUBAIX, it becomes easy why this film has an odd timeless quality.

This is a buddy buddy or bonding story with two loners, both disillusioned and world weary, returning, presumably from Algiers. Like the other colonial powers of this time (post WW II leading into the 60s), France had struggled to keep up appearances overseas. Losing Algiers was a bitter blow.

ADIEU L'AMI (the original title) chronicles the actions of our two (anti) heroes as they struggle to make a go of it, after their discharge.

One thing happens after another, and the viewer really has to pay attention, because JAPRISOT is lean and economical with his script: if it is there, then there must be a reason.

Suffice to say, these two men battle it out, physically and psychologically, one long weekend. Their motivation is quite different, their goals are different - their survival depends entirely on each other. That ALAIN DELON and CHARLES BRONSON are outwardly so different - the former, arguably a pretty boy, and the latter an ugly thug, adds to the chemistry.

That quest makes for a great story, which in turn, makes for a great film.

Lest I forget there are women in this film, and true to the Japrisot method, they too are memorable, though not nearly as fleshed out; to say much more would be to spoil one's delight in discovering their true nature.

FAREWELL, FRIEND HAS BEEN RELEASED IN THE UK; AN ANAMORPHIC IMAGE, 16.9 ENHANCED; IN English ONLY (not even subtitles for the hard of hearing); A RUNNING TIME OF 110 MINUTES; MONO SOUNDTRACK but the DE ROUBAIX music has lots of punch!

Highly recommended.

This will probably be my shortest comment ever; but I havent seen this film in years. However I have always liked it as a great vehicle for both Bronson and Delon. Its finely rcrafted, smooth and slick and still has a raw edge to it. When you think about intelligent action films this one is hard to forget.

An engaging psychological thriller, it's got some fights, girls, guns, muscles and chase scenes, but that's not the point. Ultimately, this film is about friendship and honor. It's a guys' flick, although girls too will be rewarded with Alain Delon's divine mug in plenty a closeup. It is probably Charles Bronson's finest performance ever, and one of Delon's best films. Made entirely in English, this is a good chance for an American viewer to appreciate French thrillers. While trying to imitate Hollywood first, they ended up being much better than the original. This movie will probably not change you as a person, but it will resonate with you.

Alain Delon and Charles Bronson star as Dino Barran and Franz Propp, two French Foreign Legion veterans returned to Marseille after fighting in Algiers. Dino makes the acquaintance of a comely lass named Isabelle (Olga Georges-Picot), who entices him into a plan to return some stolen bearer bonds to a banks' vault. He will use his medical training as a cover, working as a doctor. But while hiding in the basement, waiting to make his move, he encounters Franz, who's there to rob the vault. The two men end up locked inside it, and while they wait for the building to open up again, they spend some time forming a friendship.

The idea is that the two unlikely friends develop a strong enough bond that neither one will be willing to rat the other one out, even after Franz is later apprehended and grilled by the police.

On the surface, this would seem to be a standard comic heist movie, but it's the initially antagonistic relationship between these mismatched characters that is the real heart and soul of the film. Delon had wanted to work with Bronson since seeing "Machine-Gun Kelly", and suggested him for the role of Franz. They have great chemistry, and are particularly funny in the early going when they keep trying to one-up each other. Offering fine support are lovely ladies Georges-Picot and Brigitte Fossey as bank employee Dominique, whom Dino turns to for help. Bernard Fresson is also great as determined police inspector Antoine Meloutis.

Although a little over-extended at just under two hours, "Farewell, Friend" offers up a fair amount of fun and humour, as well as a bit of suspense. (Franz is often attempting a trick of submerging as many coins as possible in a drink before it will overflow the cup / glass.). It also has a bit of action, and some memorable and delicious twists late in the game.

Delon is cool as always, and Bronson is just a joy: smiling, laughing, joking. If you're a fan of one or both of them, you'll have a pretty good time watching this one.

Seven out of 10.