The Wages of Fear, directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot is a very interesting film, that takes the generic plots and expectations and throws them out the window. Throughout the film, Clouzot is "anti-everything". The biggest theme of his film, being that men are not heroes and can't evade death forever. Dennis Lehane says, "Men are wanderers. Adrenaline junkies. Mortally terrified of home and hearth." This theme is consistent throughout the film and we see that with the four main protagonists and their actions and backgrounds. Just before I introduce the characters, lets first take a look at the beginning of the film. In the beginning we see a child playing with cockroaches and as the flavored-ice vendor passes by, the child turns to lust over the treat he can't afford. Once the vendor leaves, the child returns to the cockroaches and finds that a vulture has already take his place. This sets up the theme of the movie and as Dennis said, "Clouzot has set in motion his primary theme- that men are constantly searching the horizon to the detriment of all else in their immediate world." Now that we sort of have an understanding of the themes in place, lets take a look at the four protagonists, that are supposed to get into two trucks and transport nitroglycerin to a distant oil field that is on fire. The first character to be introduced is Mario (Yves Montand), who is introduced and portrayed as a man with no emotions or attachments to anyone. He treats Linda (Vera Clouzot) like a dog. The next character is Jo (Charles Vanel), an ex-gangster that bribes his way into town and quickly shows the audience his bravery and courage. Like Mike says in his article, "... the movie, which spends almost its entire first half establishing this character as an utterly fearless badass of the first degree." We see this when he takes out a loaded pistol and gives it to Luigi and tempts him to shoot. The third character is Luigi (Folco Lulli), who is Mario's Italian roommate and suffering from lung cancer. The last being Bimba (Peter Van Eyck), who was forced to work at the Salt mines during the Nazi occupation of his country. These four characters make up a team of drivers that are about to go on an adventure to deliver an explosive material for the American oil company, SOC. This portrayal of an American company abusing workers is one of the reasons why the film wasn't allowed in America for a while. Danny explains it in his article as, "Clouzot viciously attacks corporations that continually exploit individuals - especially non-union workers in Third World countries". Now moving on to the thrilling 300-mile ride. Throughout the rest of the movie we see that characters change and go through a lot of stressful moments. One of the biggest moments being the scene where both trucks have to drive onto the wooden bridge in order to be able to turn around. While both of them are successful, we learn at the end of the scene that Jo is actually a coward and scared for his life. Even after the film spends so much time trying to show us a brave Jo, the film pulls a 180 and shows him as a weak and scared old man. This concept of the men, especially Jo, losing their nerves is something that isn't seen in many films. As Dennis puts it, "It's a refreshingly authentic concept-that exposure to terror does not make one less fearful, as most heroic films purport, but more so. You can't conquer fear, only temporarily elude it." This theme continues on throughout the film, even after the characters survive countless close calls, death finally catches up to them. As you can see in the video down below, Luigi and Bimba are the first to go. From there the film starts going down hill. Shortly after their deaths, Mario and Jo come across the explosion and have to cross the pool of oil. As Jo is directing Mario through it, he gets stuck and starts screaming for Mario to stop. Mario, knowing if he stops he will get stuck, decides to run over Jo's legs. This scene is a good example of Mario's characters and how he doesn't care about anyone. Linda would have done anything for him and Jo was his so called, "Best friend" and yet when these two started going against Mario and his beliefs, he cast them aside. We see that even when he comes to help Jo, he is mad at him for getting the truck caught in the oil. I guess this goes back to the main theme of the film and that's how there are no heroes in this film. There is no heroic death, just death and misery. After getting the truck out of the oil, Mario and Jo continue to the oil field. With only a bit more to go before they get there, Jo ultimately dies and that leaves only Mario. After arriving at the camp he is given the money and truck to go back. Hearing that Mario is coming back, Linda and the rest of the people at the bar start dancing. At the same time we see Mario celebrating in his truck and driving around like a mad man. This ends with him accidentally driving off a cliff and also dying, as seen in the video down below. This ending once again proves to us that there is no escaping death. After all that Mario went through, he ends up dying to something so simple as not being able to take a corner. Overall, this film is not like many others. Instead of having a cast of characters that are strong, brave and heroic, it has the opposite. Mario doesn't care much for the death of his fellow drivers, Jo becomes a coward, Luigi is already dying of lung cancer, and Bimba is ready to die before he even sets off. This cast of characters is what makes them feel more human and adds to the suspense of watching them all struggle with the knowledge that they have explosives on their trucks. This carries over to the theme of the film, and that is that no one can escape death. The men were so willing to do the job because of the promise of good pay, like the child in the beginning looking at the ice cream, only to turn back to the old life and see that its not there anymore. The child losses his cockroaches and the men lose their lives. This theme is what separates this film and makes it one of a kind.
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