The Secret (1974)

Despite the presence of three French film stars (Jean Louis Trintignant, Marlène Jobert and Philippe Noiret), "The Secret" has remained mostly buried since it was made back in 1974. If you see it, you'll know why. This is not a film with much commercial appeal. Technically it is a thriller, but it has almost no thrills. The basic story is actually intriguing (what is the terrible secret that Trintignant has learned? Who are the people chasing him? Or is he just a lunatic and himself the real danger?), but it receives plodding treatment (very little happens in the first hour or so). Ennio Morricone's score is a little too epic to befit a film of this type. ** out of 4.

Fabulous little film involving just three main characters all of whom do very well but Jean Louis Trintignant and Philippe Noiret excel. Great start, great finish and all along the way this curious film has the main protagonists and us guessing. Only Trintignant's character is really sure what is going on and we have seen him make an escape at the beginning but whether his interpretation of events is accurate is always uncertain. As well as this there is a curious relationship between the man and wife Trintignant befriends. Is he offering his wife to him, daring her, testing her?At times quite chilling, always challenging and intriguing and if this slips or pauses for a second there is the fantastic Morricone score holding everything firmly in its grip. Sweet, menacing and assured, this has to one of the composer's very best. Great find!

I am amazed Le Secret only gets very good reviews here. I personally lost 94 minutes watching this, although I was already aware that Enrico was a mediocre director who happened to get fine scripts he could not really mess with.The big failure in the secret is that it's definitely not a tense psychological thriller. Enrico has clearly no idea about how to create the appropriate atmosphere. David, the fugitive (Trintignant) doesn't really know what he wants to do, where he wants to go. That's already a bad start. Speaking of action, he happens to stay with Thomas and Julia (Noiret and Jobert): more passivity leading us further into a would-be story. To cap it all this passive fugitive with no inner will, no goal, is not presented as particularly ambiguous or manipulative. So much for the story.Enrico doesn't direct, he just let the three leads perform their roles. Morricone's score hardly nears those de Roubaix composed for his friend Enrico, but well, this is far from an inspiring story.Actually the opening credits sequence was very good, but right from the evasion there is simply no style or tension, nor whatever angle you are supposed to chose to tell a specific story. The last image is good too, but frankly, having some cheap political statement at the end of a bad overlong exposé is just painfully ridiculous.

The rude nature of the South West of France alongside the plot of the movie where three well known french actors give the best of themselves in a story that is taken of reality of those years of the 70's. Sublime shots and dialogues, good acting work, a movie that has no need to any Hollywood action and big budgets in order to entertain. If you like France and its mentality, then this movie is for you.