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RIFIFI
(1955, Dassin)
A film from the Criterion Collection whose number includes the #11 (#115)



"There are kids, millions of kids who've grown up poor. Like you. How did it happen? What difference was there between them and you, that you became a hood, a tough guy, and not them? Know what I think, Jo? They're the tough guys, not you."

At one point in this film, a nightclub singer sings of a man that likes tough movies, rough love, jealousy scuffles, and gun wagging, all of which she explains, attributes, or blames on "rififi". "Rififi" is a French slang word which can be loosely translated to trouble, violent conflict, show of force, but more specifically "chest puffing" and "macho tough guy posturing". The kind of attitude that can be seen in thugs and criminal, and "makes women come back for more". There's a lot of that in this French film, which obviously lends it its name.

Rififi follows Tony (Jean Servais), a tough but aging criminal that sets out to commit a risky diamond theft. He is joined by his best friend Jo (Carl Möhner), a mutual friend called Mario (Robert Manuel), and a safe-cracker called César (Jules Dassin). The four come up with a plan to break into the store at night, disable the alarms, crack the safe, and walk out in the morning without being seen. But can they succeed?

This is a film of which I had heard countless good things, so it was great to see it deliver. You gotta hand it to Dassin for putting in the lead a man that's not only a criminal, but who we see brutally abusing of his former girlfriend within the first act. Tony is a no-nonsense thief that seems to have nothing to lose, and lives his life in such a way. He's not particularly charismatic and yet we want to see him and his friends succeed.

The heist is impressive, not only because of the skills that each thief shows in pulling it off, but also for how Dassin shoots it. 32 minutes long, with no dialogue or music, and still you're on the edge of your seat for most of that time. But also, how cool and smooth is it that these guys are pulling it off with suits and shiny shoes?

But as cool and cheeky as that might have seemed, much like Tony, the film is a no-nonsense and violent affair. The last act really pushes these men to the limit to test how tough they really are, while ultimately handing them their reward. Regardless of how it ended for them, I feel like I ended up with the biggest loot with this film.

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