The Red Circle

The Red Circle
by Jean-Pierre Melville (1970)

Two criminals, along with a former policeman struggling with alcoholism, execute a plan to rob a Parisian jewelry store.

Buddha took a piece of red chalk, drew a circle, and said:
“If it is written that two men, even if they don’t know each other, are destined to meet one day, anything can happen to them, and they may follow different paths, but on the appointed day, inevitably, they will find themselves in this red circle…”

That red circle, from the original title, becomes the main driving force behind the human events.

Just like the protagonists, who are two perfect strangers, meeting by chance, without any specific reason.
They observe each other from a distance, just as they have done their whole lives, before forming a deep bond of friendship and loyalty.

A relationship born from total randomness, from being in the same place at the same time, and that develops in silence, in the ability to understand what the other does not say: a way to share the same loneliness.

Considerations

Melville, in his penultimate film, creates an essential work, perfectly aligned with his style: few words, little action, a simple plot, and a solid script.
There’s no room for spectacle, the soundtrack is minimal, almost no sentimentality (except for the police commissioner’s relationship with his cats), just icy stares and constantly lit cigarettes, along with an almost obsessive attention to the credibility of the story being told.

After all, it’s about three criminals robbing a jewelry store, not their inner and intimate world.

Even their names don’t matter (in fact, the characters are always referred to by their surnames, hence the meaning behind the Italian title), only their final goal matters.

All of this forms what is known as the polar (a French term), a cinematic and literary genre born from the fusion of police procedural and noir.

The actors are absolutely perfect: Alain Delon manages to command the frame with just his magnetic gaze, Gian Maria Volonté conveys all the lucid madness required of his character.

Yves Montand is perfect as the ex-policeman enslaved by alcohol and delirium tremens, seeking a chance at redemption, and finally, Bourvil is both calculating and determined in his effort to hunt down the three criminals.

The Red Circle is a film to watch at least once in your life.

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