Movie #220 Wages of Fear *1953*

This is a slow burn.  Apparently when this movie was released in the USA the first 30 minutes of the film was cut out.  The reason given at the time was that the run time was 2.5 hours and that American audiences would not sit though a movie that long.  It was later discovered that the real reason that the footage was cut out was that it was deemed to be un-American.  This would have been have been during the Koren War and sensor claimed that Americans didn't want to hear about foreigners that didn't like us.  I would say that for the most part, we still don't.

The version I saw was the original French cut with the first 30 minutes in tact.  Not to sound like a patriot, but I could have lived without that 30 minutes.  Not do to my American alliances but more to the fact that this is a gut wrenching thriller and the 30 minutes of set up could have been skillfully whittled down to about 10 minutes. 

Once this film gets going though, LOOK OUT! It is a take no prisoner, balls to the wall thriller.   It is a film about some dirt poor villagers in a mud hole of a town in Latin America.  They are of all different nationalities.  The film focuses mainly on 4 of these characters.  These four men are contracted by a oil company to haul 2 trucks of nitroglycerin 300 miles through terrible terrain.  It is basically a suicide mission.  But if these men ever want to get out of that crappy little town they will need this money.

The men consist of:

• Mario - A French transplant that has been sulking around the village for months with no way out and the admiration of a waitress at the local watering hole.
• Jo - A new comer from France.  He is throwing money around like he has any.  He is a bully with the towns folk, but when he is really called to be a man he shows his true colors.
• Bimba - A German man that was put to work in the salt mines under Nazi orders.  He escaped to this town and now he can't escape anymore.
• Luigi - A local man that is the comedic relief.  He is portly and funny.  He has a health condition that will no longer allow him to work his job in the cement area.

These four men take the assignment to transport the explosives.  The film does an excellent job of setting up the personalities of these men.  Then breaking them down and subverting things under the highest of pressure situations.

The first obstacle they run into is a washboard dirt road.  The question is how to drive over.  Should you attempt to drive very slowly, trying to control each bump or should you drive quickly along the tops of each bump.  The two trucks decide on different plans without conferring with the other truck.  This leads to a near head on collision that would have ended the mission quick.

The next challenge is a winding road up a steep mountain.  The trucks are too long and wide to make a turn all at once so they have to back down on to a wooden structure.  Of course this structure is made of rotten wood and will barely hold the weight of the truck.  It is about this time that the true characters start to shine through the tough outer shells of these men.  The second truck runs into some even more life threatening situations that I have no idea how they filmed this.  It was breath taking.

Then we find a bolder in the road.  The men decided to blow the rock up and we almost cause both trucks to explode because the rock are raining down on the plastic tanks of TNT.  The final hurdle is a broken oil line has caused a major oil slick that is over 3 feet deep and the truck have to pass through without stopping or they will never make their destination. 

I won't spoil anything for you.  I will say that not all 4 men make it to the final destination.  The ending of this movie totally blew me away (no pun intended).  This is an ending that you would never see in a modern movie.  The studios wouldn't allow it.  I loved it and I loved the cross cutting editing work that went on during this scene.  This is a true masterpiece and every thriller after owes this movie some credit. 

This film was made by Henri-Georges Clouzot.  I already watched his film Diabolique and loved it.  This film made me interested in checking out more films from his cannon.  I give Wages of Fear ★★★★.