The GJ Arnaud who wrote the novel must not be mistaken for Georges Arnaud,who wrote the very famous "Salaire De La Peur" (wage of fear)which Clouzot brilliantly transferred to the screen .
There are three good things in this rather dull movie: First,the sadly missed Bernard Giraudeau ,who,even in a thankless part,beneath him,displays plenty of go,a good sense of humor and an obvious talent;all the good moments rest on his shoulders.Sadly ,he is unsupported by the rest of the cast:the female co-star is not in the same league as him,and amateurish -to put it mildly- acting by pop singer Robert Charlebois does not help either.
And there're the beautiful landscapes in South America and a good music.
As for the story,it is a muddled affair ;if it were not for the lines which open the movie,the viewer would be lost in this tale of writer the extremists ("Les Longs Manteaux"= the long coats)want to slay as he is riding on a train.Even the final unexpected twist has been used again again and again in (political or not) adventure movies, or spy (or else)) thrillers .
Gilles Béhat had directed Giraudeau in "Rue Barbare" (1984) which had an eye on "Mad Max";in this effort,we feel Sergio Leone's influence in the second half ;the score is good and will remind you of (you guess it) Ennio Morricone.
