For years and years now, I’ve been writing down all the movies I watch. I used to just do it with pen and paper, then I used my blog, and now sites like Letterboxd allow me to track everything. I like looking back and seeing how many movies I’ve seen in a given year, or how many horror movies I’ve seen from the 1970s, and what percentage of films by a particular actor I’ve watched. Stats are fun.
Buy Birds of PreyAs I track the films, I notice odd little trends. Sometimes, I intentionally watch certain types of films. I watch horror movies in October, and I’m just wrapping up what I call Mysteries in May. Or I might follow a director for a while. But often these things happen by accident. I’ll look back and find I’ve watched a bunch of films in a row starring a certain actor without intending to.
This has recently happened with the great French actor Lino Ventura. He’s one of those actors I’d seen in a few films, like Elevator to the Gallows, and Army of Shadows, and enjoyed, but he wasn’t someone I really followed. I never went looking for his films. But in the last few weeks I’ve watched several of his films just randomly. At least a couple of those films have been from new Blu-ray releases that I’ve reviewed.
I don’t know why this happens. Is it just random, or has my subconscious decided I should watch more films by Ventura and that’s been pushing me toward his films? Or is there a larger trend where his films are getting new physical releases, and I’ve somehow picked up on it? I don’t have the answers, but I’m here for it. I’ve loved every film I’ve seen him in. He wasn’t a born movie star. In fact, he apparently never took acting all that seriously. His bulky frame and chiseled features don’t shout leading-man territory. He usually played cops and crooks. He had a gravitas and that something special that made him great.
In Birds of Prey, he plays a man sometimes called “La Repace” (which, when translated, means “raptor” and is also the actual French title of the film) but mostly people call him “Stranger.” He is a killer for hire. He’s been tasked to assassinate the brutal dictator of an unnamed Central American country. He is a touch cynical man who long ago lost any political ideals he may have had. He is there to do a job; let the “heroes” handle the politics.
The film opens with the man slowly traveling to his destination. We see him on a boat watching with amusement two men fistfight. He walks for a while, sneaking past guards at the border. Then he rides a train, his eyes always watching, but his mouth remaining ever quiet. He jumps off near a bridge where a man picks him up. But they cannot talk, for the man speaks French and his companion only Spanish.
This goes on for quite a while. We have no idea who this stranger is or what he wants. We just watch him traveling to some unknown destination. Yet we learn a lot about him. He is a careful man. His eyes are constantly scanning the scene. He talks little but listens much. Nothing much happens, but I found it riveting. You could say the same for almost all the film. There is some action, but all of it comes late in the runtime.
When he arrives, he is placed in a room above a cantina and told not to leave. The dictator will come to this town in a few days. There is a woman there, an old actress (Rosa Furman) with whom the dictator is having an affair. Also staying in this room is the grandson of the former president, whom the revolutionaries plan to instate as the leader of the country once the assassination is finished.
The young man is idealistic, filled with socialist rhetoric. He considers himself a man of the people but has never truly lived with them. The Stranger sees right through him. The kid has some high-sounding name, but the Stranger just calls him “Chico.” Most of the film is spent with these two trapped inside this room.
Stranger mocks Chico’s ideals. He knows the kid knows nothing of the real world. That his words are meaningless without action, and the kid has never seen any real action. He will see some before the movie is over. But maybe before the closing credits roll, Stranger will learn something about what Chico believes as well.
I loved all of this section of the film. The relationship between these two men is fascinating. The old cynic and the young idealist butting heads is not a new story, but it is played out in wonderful ways here. Furman is quite good as Chico but this film belongs to Ventura. He made a career out of playing these gruff-type characters, and he’s so good at it. I could watch him do this all day.
In the last act, the film becomes more action-oriented. They kill the dictator, but the revolutionaries set them up. They had always planned to kill the Stranger (which isn’t really a spoiler since we see them say exactly that in an early scene), and the kid was always more of a figurehead than a true leader.
The action is handled well, but the film drops off for me a bit here. I liked the talking bits so much more. Which again goes to show what a great actor Lino Ventura was. The fighting scenes do some interesting things. Chico finally gets to put his ideals into action, and the Stranger is a total pro. But again, the first 2/3rds of the film are where it’s at.
You know, I probably did request to review this movie because it had Lino Ventura in it. After watching several of his films this year, he’s been on my mind. I have no idea why so many of his films have come out recently on Blu-ray, but I’m so glad they did. I hope they release many, many more.
Kino Lorber presents Birds of Prey with a new 4K scan of the original camera negative. It looks terrific. Extras include a very informative audio commentary from Samm Deighan and some theatrical trailers.
