An AI summary [reproduced as is]:
This review covers a French film from TCM's War Alley, tentatively titled "Second Breath" or "Second Wind." The reviewer appreciates the film's slow, deliberate pacing and realistic depiction, highlighting the protagonist Gustav, known as Goo, and his life through detailed scenes. The movie is described as a suspense thriller with a cat-and-mouse dynamic between Goo and the police, featuring strong performances and moral ambiguity. Notably, it lacks a traditional femme fatale, with the main female character being Goo's sister. The reviewer highly recommends the film for its character depth and engaging narrative.
*****
A few misspellings/misunderstandings aside, that's not a bad summary:
*****
Hi, today I'm reviewing a movie that was recently on TCM's Noir Alley. I can't pronounce the name in French. The third word looks like souffle, but this is not a story about a restaurant. No. This is ostensibly a film noir. I think it does meet the criteria for film noir. Definitely. Noir, definitely. It is a French film that translates to Second Breath or Second Wind, one or the other.
In any case, I have a few little notes here about the movie, which I enjoyed it very much. I have to say. I particularly enjoyed the slow, deliberate pacing of the film, watching the protagonist Gustav, who goes by the name Gu, throughout the movie. All the little things like the scene where he's preparing some kind of cheese and crackers, it looks like, maybe. I dunno what that is, Brie or something?
Anyway, the bus rides, the series of bus rides, this guy goes on. It's just really, really … it's cool. It reveals his life, his character so much. The overall look of the movie is just fabulous. I just like that kind of, not gritty, but simply realistic depiction. It's not French New Wave, but is it on the cusp? I'd say so.
The performers were all wonderful, too. The guy who plays Gu is just so good. He has this wonderful face, and in any case, yes, there's a cat and mouse game going on between Gu and the police. I don't want to get into the plot. I mean, just trust me when I say for the characters alone, this movie is worth watching. And if you like a slightly slow burn kind of suspense thriller, this is the movie for you. I mean, if you don't mind like subtitles. Americans get funny about subtitles. They're not that bad. Come on, guys.
So I'm just, yeah, and there is a moral ambiguity that can't be denied here. I mean, it's like, alright, what's worse? Killing a cop or extorting a confession out of somebody? Setting a person up deliberately. Hmm. Yeah. Definite moral ambiguity.
And also, I was just going to say one more thing about the film noir. Oh, that's right. There is no femme fatale in this movie. The only woman, the main female character is Gu's sister. And I didn't even realize that until I read that on Wikipedia. I thought they had, anyway, don't mind me, I'm just blabbering at this point. I'm so prepared. Right? So anyway, yeah, there's no femme fatale in this movie. She's a nice girl and well, bad things happen. It's a film noir. All right, I enjoyed it very much and I recommend it highly. Take care and I'll talk to you later.
Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville
Screenplay by Jean-Pierre Melville and José Giovanni (based on the story of the same name by José Giovanni)
Produced by Charles Lumbroso and Andre Labay
PS: This isn't a trailer, but it seems to sum things up! :) You just gotta love the French.
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