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The Wages of Fear Movie Review

The Wages of Fear is a 1953 French thriller film directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot and starring Yves Montand and Charles Vanel. It’s a thriller classic.

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“Wherever there’s oil,

there’s Americans“

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Four men, who can’t afford their airfare to cross a deserted South American village, agree to transport a dangerous explosive, nitroglycerin, on a teetering road for higher wages. The main reason why this movie is so terrific lies in the execution of the thriller elements. Rarely have I seen a more thrilling film than this one, even more commendable coming from the fifties.

The entire road part of the movie is absolutely brilliant. It is an action-adventure road movie, but a highly dangerous one where you can feel palpable tension in every single moment. I loved every scene in that section because they were all so well imagined and meticulously detailed. The blowing up the rock sequence is unforgettable, but the same should be said for that oil pool scenario that was incredibly dark and by far the film’s most staggering obstacle.

And that ending! Words cannot describe the bleakness of that final sequence. Basically, three of the four men die, but the last one, the protagonist, manages to survive. However, he dies going back to the village by driving recklessly. It was not only brutally unexpected and comically sadistic in a way, but it also gave us a great message about the importance of living your entire life carefully. It is important to note that death happens just once.

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I have two complaints about this film. One is its first act and the other is its lack of specificity. The latter is basically also connected to the former, so overall my main issue is that the movie is very boring in its first and the beginning of the story happens after way too much time. It was unnecessary to have all that build-up that was also wasted on characterization instead of the necessary details (what is this place, what is the historical background behind all these nations being here etc).

But, on the other hand, that emphasis on character development led to superbly developed personalities and excellent interactions between them. Mario is definitely too arrogant, but Yves Montand is excellent and very charismatic in the role. Charles Vanel is terrific as the cowardly Jo. The clash between the two and their different personalities was very interesting to follow and is the core of the movie. As for Luigi and Bimba, they are certainly less present, but still they also make an impression. It was also interesting how all of these men are in some shape or form immoral or have a dark past and are unlikable in some traits. That made the film quite authentic and different.

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The Wages of Fear again lacks explanations in terms of historical perspective and facts, but at the same time watching a film from the fifties that features all these different languages (Spanish and French mostly, but also English and German) made for quite an authentic viewing experience. The cinematography is amazing as is the utilization of all the sets and action. The direction is also fantastic and the acting is strong across the board. The score and sound are great too. It’s just an all around tremendous movie.