Second Wind

Original title: Le deuxième souffle

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

A gangster escapes jail and quickly makes plans to continue his criminal ways elsewhere, but a determined inspector is closing in.A gangster escapes jail and quickly makes plans to continue his criminal ways elsewhere, but a determined inspector is closing in.A gangster escapes jail and quickly makes plans to continue his criminal ways elsewhere, but a determined inspector is closing in.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.9/10

6.8K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Photos92

+ 85

More like this

7.7

Le Doulos

7.6

Bob le Flambeur

7.6

The Silence of the Sea

7.0

6.5

7.5

8.1

7.9

6.6

6.9

The Terrible Children

6.6

When You Read This Letter

8.0

Le Samouraï

Storyline

Edit

Did you know

Edit

Trivia
During the shooting of the scene in which Lino Ventura runs after the freight train that he tries to jump in, director Jean-Pierre Melville asked the train conductor to speed the train up, making it more difficult for Ventura to successfully make the jump, and Melville wanted to see the pain on his face as he tried harder to catch the train. When Ventura heard about this, long after the shooting, he was so angry about it that he had a huge row with Melville. The two never spoke again. They did make another film together, Army of Shadows (1969), but only spoke to each other through assistants.

Goofs
In the very beginning of the movie, when Gu jumps over the prison wall, it shakes to the weight of his body, revealing it is probably made of wood or some other lighter material, and not concrete as it is made to appear.

Quotes
Paul Ricci: How would you like to begin the new year with two hundred millions?
Orloff: There are many ways to begin a new year, you also may not begin it at all.

Connections
Referenced in A Cop (1972)

User reviews24

Review

Featured review

8/10

A not very well known, but essential film in the oeuvre of Jean Pierre Mellvile

Jean Pierre Melville was an "einzelganger" in French cinema. He did not belong to the Nouvelle vague (although his career took place during the heydays of this movement), but he certainly wasn't a part of the "cinema du papa" (as the nouvelle vague directors derogatory described their predecessors) either. "Le deuxieme souffle" is not the most well known picture from the oeuvre of Melville, but it is a connecting link between the pure film noir of "Bob le flambeur" (1956) and the more abstract (but still film noir) films such as "Le samourai" (1967) and "Le cercle rouge" (1970).

"Le deuxieme souffle" is not noticeable because of an innovative plot. The criminal who comes out of prison and wants to set some things straight and also wants to make one major robbery before he retires, we all have seen it a dozen times before. It is the way Melville tells this story.

One element you can't miss is the way each milieu has it's own code of honor. Gustave Minda (Lino Ventura) is a criminal who doesn't hesitate for a second when the job requires that he has to kill a couple of people ("Le deuxieme souffle" is a very raw film), but he is very anxious not to be known as a talebearer by his "colleagues". On the other hand commissaire Blot (Paul Meurisse) has to deal with very ruthless people, and in a way he understands them and sees through them. When however another commissair uses violent interrogation techniques, he takes measures to keep his profession clean.

Just like in "Le samourai" the opening scene is silent for a very long time. In this opening scene we see the escape of Gustave Minda and two other inmates. The way that Gustave has to struggle to keep pace with his fellow inmates tells us (without the use of a single word) that he is already an aging criminal.

Just like in "Du rififi chez les hommes" (1955, Jules Dassin) the preparations for the great robbery are shown in great detail. During this preparations Gustave has to hide, after all he is a prisoner on the run. Much of the movie is therefore situated in cramped claustrophobic rooms. To juxtapose all this, the execution of the crime is situated in the most open of landscapes imaginable.