Le Cercle Rouge (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1970): France / Italy

Reviewed by Pamela Carvalho. Viewed at the AFI Fest 2011.

“Le Cercle Rouge” is a riveting heist movie with lingering themes of friendship and loyalty.

This is a film about cops and crooks. We get to know and like the characters on both sides. There’s André Bourvil’s world weary veteran cop whose three cats wait for their master in his lonely apartment; Alain Delon’s enigmatic anti-hero; spaghetti western icon Gian Maria Volonté’s newly escaped prisoner and Yves Montand’s complex sharp-shooting ex-cop looking for a reason to escape his demons. We learn a lot about each of these characters from the smallest of gestures. It’s edge-of-the-seat entertainment filled with twists, double crosses and surprises.

Here’s a movie that revels in silence. Not too many movies out there are brave enough to have long stretches devoid of dialogue or even a musical soundtrack. In “Le Cercle Rouge” I would wager that there is more dead silence than there is actual talking. The way Melville directs these silences is the best part of the movie.

He builds suspense as his characters work without speaking. As Vogel prepares his escape from the train he’s being transported on he slowly removes a safety pin from his pocket and bends it so he can pick the handcuff lock. He carefully swings his legs around on the top bunk so as not to disturb Detective Mattei who’s lying on the bunk beneath him. As you watch this entire sequence take place you realize that’s exactly how you’d have to do it in real-life. There’s no soundtrack playing to make the scene more suspenseful, it’s already intense enough as it is.

The same goes for the big heist, which plays out in almost absolute silence. No music, no talking, just simple sound effects, and the efficiency of a well oiled burglary team at work.

The film has such a simple plot, but the complexities lie in its hushed scenes. We get to observe Millville’s characters working out what’s happening in their own heads. We get to be voyeurs of sorts. These people aren’t putting on an act. They act like real criminals would have to act. There’s no witty banter, or clever one-liners here. It’s just three men trying to pull off one of the biggest heists they’ve ever attempted. Therein lies the excitement of ‘Le Cercle Rouge’. Its silence speaks volumes.

All our anticipation is well rewarded in the build up to, the actual heist and the dramatic aftermath. Muted nourish cinematography shows off the various settings to their effective best and we begin to understand the language of friendship which these men share. Guns and cigarettes act as tokens of friendship and feature more prominently than words. This is the language of real men. “Le Cercle Rouge” is an original and it’s a treat to see it in its entirety and at its cinematic best.