Scanialara
You won't be disappointed!
ChanFamous
I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.
Abegail Noëlle
While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.
blanche-2
Alain Delon. With longer hair and a hat, Delon looks like the forerunner of Johnny Depp in this 1975 film, also known as Le Gitan. He plays French gypsy, Hugh Sennart, a robber wanted by the police. He steals from the state because he has nothing but contempt for the system because of the way his people are forced to live. These conditions are shown realistically and are sad indeed.Hugo's story intersects with that a jewel thief, Yan Kuq (Paul Meurisse], who robs from the rich. Kuq's wife fell from their balcony. The police suspect murder, though that is not the case. However, it happened right after a burglary, which is very suspicious.The Gypsy is doing one more heist when he runs into Yan. Here's where we learn what both men are made of, and whether or not there is honor among thieves.Good noirish film with an excellent performance by Delon and also by Paul Maurisse and Annie Girardot. It is almost two films in one. I felt the stronger story is the one that shows the gypsy conditions. Someone described Delon's expressions as "eloquent" - yes, they were. He doesn't have a huge amount of dialogue, which he doesn't in many films, so he is a master of expression.Not the best work from the director Jose Giovanni, but it's still good.
houstod
I found this movie to be low-key and subtle. There are three parallel story streams led by Delon as the gypsy Hugo Sennart, Meurisse as Yan Kuq the fence and safe cracker, and Bozzuffi as the cop whose task it is to bring them in. The film is character driven, but interest in the characters grows while watching the film as opposed to movies in which the characters demand attention from the beginning. It is a story primarily about men. These are hard people whether Gypsy, cop, or thief, and any sentimentality is tempered with cold reality. Several scenes with Alain Delon and young boys support the growing understanding that Sennart (Delon)is running out of time and add to the sense of underlying melancholy. The scene with Delon watching the flight of flamingos is something I will never forget or grow tired of watching. I would describe this movie as beautiful - subdued - with strong emotional undercurrents.
GUENOT PHILIPPE
Another film directed and adapted by the very same person: Jose Giovanni, as he already did for LA SCOUMOUNE, three years earlier. This movie starring Alain Delon is rather well made, with convincing performances, especially Annie Girardot as a supporting character. The underworld is of course shown in a way different as it is now. A lost atmosphere, with much nostalgia. I love this. I would point out that the Paul Meurisse and Marcel Bozzufi's characters are here the total opposite as they were in LE DEUXIEME Soufflé, also adapted from Giovanni and directed by Jean-Pierre Melville. In this movie, the Melville's one, Meurisse was the cop and Bozziffi the Hood. Here, Bozzuffi is the cop and Meurisse the gangster. A film that makes you think of the gypsies way of life and the behavior that the french government shows against this community. The way the authorities ostracize those people. It may be revolting.
MartinHafer
I could tell when I was watching this film that THE GYPSY would probably not appeal to many people for two main reasons. First, the film is a rather amoral affair--taking a very neutral view of crime and the police. If you are looking for a pro-police sort of film, this certainly isn't it. Second, the ending will simply infuriate those who need a sense of closure. Neither of these things particularly bothered me, but I am sure many will find these serious shortcomings to overlook.The film centers around two career criminals whose stories never intersect until near the end. Le Gitan ("The Gypsy") is played by Alain Delon and he is a man who feels that because society has no respect or place for Gypsies (which he is one), then he has no obligations towards society. He is not a rampant murderer, but more of a man who feels no guilt about stealing and robbing from what he sees as a corrupt system. Paul Meurisse plays Yan Kuq. He's more of a professional criminal--one who could care less about society one way or another--he simply is out to take what he wants and live the life of a gentleman criminal.As far as the film goes, it never goes in great depth about the criminals or police. Instead, it shows them "doing their thing" with no commentary or apparent position on who is right or wrong. This amoral approach, though unusual, actually works well because it adds to the film's realism. This is a world where crime MIGHT pay and the evil-doers MIGHT live happily ever after! In many ways, it is a bit like Film Noir updated to the 1970s and without the same conventions and clichés. It is unflinching and unromantic from start to finish, but never dull.