Le Samourai

 For a short period of time, Le Samourai was available for free on Prime. It was a movie I had put on my watch list a long time ago. I came across it last week on some list. As soon as I finished watching, it was no longer available for free. I watched it over a three or four day period during my workout sessions on the M5.

If you really want to understand this film, take a look at the words above Alain Delon's hat. "There is no solitude greater than that of the samurai." Think about that. Now imagine a movie that conveys that sense of solitude of which there is none greater. Is that really the hook that's going to get the public all giddy with anticipation? "Come see this plenitude of solitude. You'll love it."

The shots from the film itself are even more exciting, if that's possible. Our samurai's apartment is a cheery battleship gray with added shadow for character.
 

This is not a shot of the grotto of solitude, but it is a nice angle that conveys the idea of a hideout or meditation resort for our hero or anti-hero. It's actually a garage where he takes the stolen car to get new plates put on it.

So what does our samurai do? Well, it appears he's a hit man. The exciting part of the film takes place over a period of about two seconds near the beginning when Delon confronts his target who asks him who he is and what he wants. Delon responds that his name isn't important, and "to kill you" to the second question. The target pulls a gun, but Delon-san is quicker and makes good on his reason for being there.

 It's possible I'm mistaken, but it seemed to me that he wore the hat and trench coat to commit the murder, was seen up close by one witness, and viewed leaving by several others at a distance. He had gone to the trouble to set up an alibi and ditched the murder weapon, but kept the hat and coat, knowing the cops were going to pick him up, and even wore the ensemble to the lineup. That seems like a bit of a flaw in his clever plan. Perhaps it was required by the code of solitude.

Anyhow, there's some interrogation at the police station. Delon-san doesn't get the payment he expected for doing the job, and the cops bug his place and threaten his girlfriend. There are some more things that use of the time (I won't spoil it for you by revealing them) and his solitude is broken by an intruder. It all leads to another car theft and new plates for an apparent murder at the site of the previous murder.

Let's just say that he reaches the point of maximum solitude, and the movie ends. Naturally, I've left out a lot of things that are important to the story because I didn't want to spoil it for you.

There's not much dialog in this film and it's easy to follow. I probably would've been fine to watch it without the subtitles. If you've got a hankerin' for a taste of samurai solitude, this is the film for you.

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I finished reading this gem:

 As you might expect, I highly recommend it.

Yesterday, I finished writing a story for submission to an 80s vice anthology. It's neon, and it's noir, and it's absent of gloire, wearing some tubular clothes.