"Cloportes" is a film from a very crowded genre--European heist films. With such classics as "Rififi", "Grand Slam" and "Bob le Flambeur" (and many others), it is hard for "Cloportes" to stand out from the crowd. However, it has one big advantage--it stars the king of cool French gangsters, Lino Ventura. And as for Ventura, he made several other heist films such as "Touchez Pas au Grisbi", "La Bonne Annee" and "Le Deuxième Soufflé"! As I said, it's a crowded genre!
Ventura is a big-time crook. Against his better judgment, he agrees to finance a safe cracking job--even though the guys seem like complete amateurs. He needs the money to keep living his lavish lifestyle and lets down his guard. And, because they are idiots, their ineptness result in Ventura being captured and sent to prison. He does not talk about who else was involved with the caper--he just does his time. But he's mad--not just because these guys bungled the job but because they lied in order to get his financing--and this lie resulted in him losing several years of his life. Not surprisingly, he's out for revenge.
Fortunately, unlike the other heist movies this one is a bit difference. The heist itself only occupies the beginning of the film--much more of it is focused on what happens afterwords. And, of all the characters Ventura encounters after prison, the most interesting must be the beautiful woman played by Irina Demick! Well worth seeing and with a nice twist near the end. Not among Ventura's best--but considering how wonderful he always was, this isn't an insult to "Cloportes"--it's still a terrific film.
Ventura is a big-time crook. Against his better judgment, he agrees to finance a safe cracking job--even though the guys seem like complete amateurs. He needs the money to keep living his lavish lifestyle and lets down his guard. And, because they are idiots, their ineptness result in Ventura being captured and sent to prison. He does not talk about who else was involved with the caper--he just does his time. But he's mad--not just because these guys bungled the job but because they lied in order to get his financing--and this lie resulted in him losing several years of his life. Not surprisingly, he's out for revenge.
Fortunately, unlike the other heist movies this one is a bit difference. The heist itself only occupies the beginning of the film--much more of it is focused on what happens afterwords. And, of all the characters Ventura encounters after prison, the most interesting must be the beautiful woman played by Irina Demick! Well worth seeing and with a nice twist near the end. Not among Ventura's best--but considering how wonderful he always was, this isn't an insult to "Cloportes"--it's still a terrific film.