Le bon et les méchants

The Good and the Bad (Le bon et les méchants), directed by Claude Lelouch, is a richly textured exploration of crime, loyalty, and morality set against the turbulent backdrop of France between 1935 and 1945. Blending heist drama with historical context, the film offers a gripping narrative that delves into the complex choices faced by its characters during a time of upheaval.

Jacques Dutronc and Marlène Jobert deliver standout performances as members of a gang whose lives intertwine with the sociopolitical currents of pre- and post-war France. Dutronc portrays his character with a quiet intensity, while Jobert exudes both strength and vulnerability, adding depth to the film's moral ambiguities. Serge Reggiani and Brigitte Fossey lend exceptional support, enriching the ensemble with their nuanced portrayals.

Lelouch's direction is both dynamic and intimate, seamlessly weaving action-packed heist sequences with reflective moments of character introspection. The use of the iconic Citroën car as a symbol of the gang's unity and defiance adds a unique visual and narrative thread. The cinematography captures the shifting landscapes of the era, transitioning from the streets of bustling cities to the quiet tension of rural hideouts.

What elevates The Good and the Bad beyond a typical crime drama is its layered storytelling, which intertwines personal ambition with the broader historical context of World War II. Lelouch examines the thin line between heroism and villainy, challenging the audience to question the true meaning of morality in desperate times.

Though the pacing occasionally falters with moments of overindulgence, the film's compelling performances and thoughtful narrative make it a standout work.

Rating: 8/10 - A sophisticated and engaging crime drama that offers both thrills and profound moral inquiries.

Follows four characters - a couple of petty criminals, a prostitute who marries one of them, and a policeman - from the easy-going days of pre-war Paris through the traumas of the Nazi occupation to the ambiguities of liberation.

What was straightforward, when a crook was a crook, a whore was a whore and a cop was a cop, becomes increasingly cloudy as France first falls under a régime that is more crooked, more corrupt and more vicious than anything known or even imagined before and then has to rapidly bury much of the poisoned memory in order to live at peace again.

Lelouch gives us four believable characters who survive these turbulent years and also a fifth, the cop's charming but unfaithful wife who is sacrificed to save his life. Shot in sepia to distance the events from reality and enlivened by Francis Lai's haunting period music, the film is not overburdened by its portentous themes. Never dull or predictable, it entertains as well as instructs.

I'd seen the crime film, "Le Voyou", and aside from the silly opening dance sequence, loved it, so I wanted to see more Claude Lelouch pictures. I found this on a two DVD set with "Viva La Vie" (which is excellent, it is the best of the 5 Lelouch films I've seen. It's very original).

This film may start out as a fairly standard crime film, and it was feeling more OK than great for the first half hour. Once it opens up though, and gets to the time period of the Nazi occupation of France, it's a dead interesting, very good film. Very good acting by all the main players.

Because of the standard beginning, I wouldn't quite rank it along side Malle's 'Lancombe, Lucien', or "Au Revoir Les Enfants", but I could still see it being included in the Criterion Collection's Eclipse series.

I don't understand why nobody has it commented yet because it is a masterpiece! I don't want to write any plot-walk-through so I will tell you about my feelings:

The story about being good and bad in different conditions, times and places. When obeying rules in one situation can be interpreted as the good behavior but in the other not. ....... we see characters which are in fact born to fight against each other because they see the world in completely different ways ........ we see that in some situations being bad or good is split by a very thin border which is very easy to cross in both directions

...and completely different thing is the way people around see us

everything is very well acted and what is very important with high probability this incredible story could happen in the past

In the first scene, I was captivated by the beautiful Italo-French of the dance teacher Claudio and from then on I wasn't bored for a second. It's absolutely worth seeing the twists and turns the individual characters take when confronted with injustice and seduction that befalls them with the occupation of France by the Germans: aryanization/enrichment, betrayal/career, torture and being tortured. But we also see that there was of course anti-Semitism and reactionary elite in France even before the Nazis invaded. And that after the war, being part of the Résistance was not just an advantage. A movie that gets by without pathos and clichés, that offers authentic acting. Bravo!