Duvivier, Gabin, what's to be bad, right. W - e - e - ll, I have to say right off that this could have been better; Gabin had already appeared in an earlier Duvivier entry, Maria Chapledaine and within a couple of years he would score really heavily in Duvivier's Le Belle equipe and Pepe Le Moko - in fact you could argue that this is something of a dress rehearsal for Pepe given that in both films Gabin winds up in North Africa escaping a criminal past in France. Most of the faults are in the script. After a brief opening sequence in Paris - which anticipates Le Jour se leve with Gabin starting the film by ending a life - we switch abruptly - and for no satisfactory reason - to Barcelona where Gabin has his pocket picked with nothing more made of it. Then he enlists in the Spanish Foreign Legion and this is where the story really starts - again there is a foretaste of Pepe Le Moko in that a relentless cop, Robert Le Vigan, clearly mistaking Gabin for Jean Valjean, hounds him as he would be hounded in the Casbah. Top-billed Annabella doesn't really convince as an Arab dancing girl anymore than the instant attraction and marriage between her and Gabin. Another poster has pointed out the ludicrousness of having a well OUTSIDE the fort which makes it that much easier for the enemy to pick off the Legionnaires as they venture outside lest they dehydrate. On the other hand this IS a Duvivier film and Duvivier WAS a genius so there are moments to savour and as I've said before even an off-form Duvivier is light years better than Godard on the best day he ever had.
Review of La bandera
