Der Gute und die Bösen / Le Bon et les Méchants - by Claude Lelouch (1976) [Repost]

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Der Gute und die Bösen / Le Bon et les Méchants - by Claude Lelouch (1976) [Repost]

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Der Gute und die Bösen / Le Bon et les Méchants - by Claude Lelouch (1976) [Repost]

This is the story of Jacques, a young car mechanic who dreams of becoming a professional boxer, and his kind-hearted Jewish friend, Simon. In the 1930s, the two men steal a car with a powerful engine that can outrun any other road vehicle and embark on a life of crime – robbing banks and acting as latter day highwaymen. A redoubtable police inspector, Bruno, is close to bringing the two men to justice, but then World War II intervenes. Whilst Jacques and Simon end up, quite by chance, supporting the French Resistance, Bruno consciously decides that his best interests lie in collaborating with the German police. Their paths are bound to cross…

Le Bon et les méchants, Claude Lelouch’s "good guy, bad guy" morality tale set at the time of the Nazi occupation of his country, is a curiously detached work, yet one which is subtly etched with irony and humanity. Given Lelouch’s own Jewish background, it is remarkable that he could make such a film in the way that he does. The film’s thesis is that there are no such thing as bad men or good men – to a large extent, our actions are driven by external events over which we have little control. This is an extraordinarily generous sentiment but it does expose a certain naivety and, in that respect, the film feels awkwardly simplistic.

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Der Gute und die Bösen / Le Bon et les Méchants - by Claude Lelouch (1976) [Repost]

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Der Gute und die Bösen / Le Bon et les Méchants - by Claude Lelouch (1976) [Repost]

Close

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Der Gute und die Bösen / Le Bon et les Méchants - by Claude Lelouch (1976) [Repost]

Close

×

Der Gute und die Bösen / Le Bon et les Méchants - by Claude Lelouch (1976) [Repost]

Close

×

Der Gute und die Bösen / Le Bon et les Méchants - by Claude Lelouch (1976) [Repost]

Close