Le Samouraï (1967)

Le Samouraï is the 2nd Jean-Pierre Melville work that I've seen. Melville never had a formal training as a director, so his style was very unique. When I first watched another of his work, Un Flic, it seemed to be slow; but at the 2nd viewing, I was in a better mood and amazed by the wonderful photography. Therefore, I knew what to expect when I was about to watch Le Samouraï. This movie is about solitude (and I read it's about schizophrenia, too) , a lonely hitman who lives in a minimalist flat with a bird. Alain Delon plays Jef Costello, the contract hitman whose eyes often look blank and empty, and I think it's a perfect way to portray an unhappy man; a dreamer who seems to live in another world. The choice of the bird as a pet is also interesting. Why a bird, and not a dog or a cat? -but as the story goes, the bird proves its usefulness, more effective than a dog or a cat, as it alerts the owner but not the intruder. The images are very beautiful and silence is used to build the suspense.

The movie begins with a shot of Jef's room, and while the credits roll gradually the audience can see that a man is lying on the bed, smoking. At first I thought the sound was of a fan in the ceiling, but there is no fan and it's the bird's. Another thing that amazes me is how dialogues are only used when necessary, and that makes this movie very elegant. After seeing 2 Melville works, I think he liked to maintain silence to build the suspense, and that time (in the movie) was very important. Melville's two movies I have seen have excellent picture quality. They are even clearer than recent movies. I think it's because the amount of light was generous (although some shot in darkness were blurry), and perhaps the pale colours he used were also important. My favourite scene are: the rain falls on Jef's car window, gives an excellent effect on his face, and when he feeds the bird.


Although entitled Le Samouraï, this is a French movie, set in Paris in 1967. Some of the costumes are not fit for the time (the fedora, trench-coat), but this was deliberately done, and they look great on-screen. Another thing that doesn't make sense is how so many police tail Jef all over the city, while the main witness without doubt states that he is not the killer and he has a solid alibi. In all, this is a very beautiful movie and what we need to do is to sit back and enjoy. Is there anything such as a perfect film? -but as a medium, this serves perfectly the director's intention.