Anyone who's seen John Woo's old Hong Kong action films such as The Killer and A Better Tomorrow should be familiar with the notions of honor amongst thieves, friendship and loyalty. It is no surprise then that Woo was largely responsible for the revitalization of Melville's 1970 crime drama Le Cercle Rouge which was clearly a great influence on Woo's work.
In this film we see cool, calm and collected bad guys who do not reveal much to each other or the audience, but undeniably know and understand each other through their moral codes and expectations of them. Corey is a just released ex-convict. Vogel is an escaped prisoner who hides himself in the trunk of Corey's car. Corey sees this, even willingly keeps him concealed from the police at a checkpoint. He pulls the car over when the coast is clear and allows Vogel, who has found Corey's gun in the trunk, to get out. The two have never met each other. It would have been easy for Corey to let the police capture Vogel, it would be even easier for Vogel to shoot Corey here and take his car, but neither one screws the other over. They do not share many words in this scene, just long quiet expressions, an understanding and agreement that goes without saying. Corey simply says, "Paris is your best chance" and Vogel gets back in the trunk and they drive off forming their partnership. Corey has a big heist planned out; Vogel would make a perfect partner. They need a third member so Vogel suggest an old friend of his, an ex-cop Jansen who is an expert marksman. The three of them barely know each other but now share a bond that is unbreakable.
Le Cercle Rouge is all about the cool characters, the slick look and feel of the French underworld that Melville is so good at capturing in films such as Bob le Flambeur and Le Doulos. On its surface, the film may seem a tad slow and prolonged, but I thought it worked better this way, a sort of slow burner that grows stronger as it progresses. But the slowness can also be linked to the style; the camera doesn't move or cut as drastically as typical modern films and there are a lot of silent moments. In fact, the big heist which runs about twenty minutes long is done in almost complete silence, no dialogue or accompanying exciting heist music. It is filmed in a way that the criminals would like it. Imagine if a cat burglar brought his radio with him on the job to provide his personal soundtrack? Nevertheless, the scene is actually more tense and exciting this way and when the alarm finally rings it is just as jarring to the viewer as it is to the burglars.
The details of the story, whether they get away with it or not, whether they live or die, are imprisoned or wind up at the beach in the French Riviera is almost immaterial. It's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game. The characters in this movie are bound by their code and wouldn't have it any other way.
Grade: A-
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