Le Cercle Rouge - English subtitled
Iconic, existential and highly stylized heist thriller with a moustachioed Alain Delon as a master thief.Master thief Corey – Alain Delon with a poker face – has just been released from prison. On his journey from Marseille to Paris, he crosses paths with an escaped convict and an alcoholic ex-policeman, wonderfully played by Yves Montand. This unlikely and cold-blooded trio joins forces for an ingenious robbery of a heavily guarded jewellery store.
Taciturn men, impeccably tailored trench coats and a monumental burglary sequence lasting nearly half an hour – with no dialogue – Le Cercle Rouge is a masterpiece of French crime cinema.
Director Jean-Pierre Melville is best known for the introspective and existential nature of his crime films – see, for instance, Le Samouraï (1967), also featuring a standout performance by Alain Delon. The title Le Cercle Rouge refers to a ‘Buddhist motto’ – entirely invented by Melville – which claims that people who are destined to meet will inevitably do so ‘within the red circle,’ no matter how circuitous or improbable the paths they take to get there.