Review 2009-02-10T23:30:24-08:00 32 A movie review of Bob le Flambeur (1956), an example of French film noir by filmmaker, Jean-Pierre Melville. movie,review,Bob,Flambeur,French,noir,Melville,heist,film,gambling 2009-02-11T00:00:00-08:00 The 1956 film, Bob le Flambeur (high roller), is a bridge between Hollywood's film noir meta-genre and the French New Wave movement that was to follow. It's a low-budget one-off that features a high-roller named Bob, who embodies the cool American criminal in a world of Parisian wanna-be gangsters. [img size="200x237"]/images/articles/reviews/bob-le-flambeur.jpg[/img][capt]Bob le Flambeur (high roller)[/capt] The film starts slowly, introducing us to the Montmartre area of Paris, complete with layabouts, prostitutes and gambling. The main character, Bob, dresses well, stays up all night gambling, and is in the midst of a losing streak. Bob has scruples, once saving a cop from being shot in a bank heist (for which Bob did his time), not helping out a guy who beats his prostitute wife, and taking in a young woman to save her from a life on the street. When down to his last francs, Bob learns of a fortune in the safe of a large, high-class casino after Grands Prix. There's an inside man who knows that the safe is vulnerable at 5am. Bob goes into action, making a deal with the croupier (dealer), getting financial backing, buying some muscle, and hiring an expert safe cracker. On many levels, this is a low-tech, small-time Ocean's Eleven. Not everything goes smoothly. Two of the crooks, Bob's young friend Paulo and the croupier, blab to their women, unraveling the scheme. On the night of the heist, Bob goes to the casino to make sure that nothing is amiss. He sees that the croupier is not there, but rather than call off the job, Bob is enticed by Lady Luck. Frankly, there are better heist films, and better film noir. Bob le Flambeur is best saved for those studying film history, and those who are open to watching something different. If the film has an overall flaw, it's lack of balance. The introduction of the characters is overly long before the plot goes into action. Some edits are quick. Others are long and odd. At one point we take a drive in the car and listen to the musical underscore for no particular reason, other than to get from here to there. The musical score is both genius and imbecilic, with audio mixing to match. Near the beginning of the film we see a funicular train descending, and the composer plays endless downward scales. What is this, kindergarten? As young Paulo walks between bars, we hear the music playing from each one - only they don't mix. The sounds change like switching radio channels. On the other hand, the live jazz is brilliant, and the dialog and music are mixed cleanly with perfect balance as the vibes player in the background syncs to the song perfectly. This is a fun film to watch, in that we get to see the French perspective of the Hollywood film noir and American criminals. We get to see the not so romantic side of Paris in the mid-50s. And we get to stroll onto the bridge that leads to the French New Wave film movement. Rotten Tomatoes gives this film a 96 percent rating. I'm more critical. I give it six stars out of ten. If you like film history, add two points. If you just want to be entertained by a heist film, subtract two and rent Ocean's Eleven. 2009-02-11T06:06:29-08:00 1