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Review: The Sicilian Clan (Le Clan des Siciliens) (1969)
I found this to be a rather thrilling movie. Spoilers.
Story
I would say this was a heist movie with gangster/mafia undertones. I was surprised to see that this movie didn't delve too much into gang relationships and gangster culture. I didn't mind that though, because I do think that gangs are a bit romanticized in such movies, and I was more interested in the heist anyway.
I was a bit surprised by the ending, to be honest. Sartet was always the outsider because of his reckless ways. I had expected him to get his money and to run away with Jeanne in the end, but I guess Vittorio decided that he'd take him down with them if the entire family was going down.
Characters
There was a relatively large cast of characters, but many of them were more "role players" than developed characters with their own intentions and goals.
Vittorio Manalese
He was the boss of the Manalese family. I thought it was interesting that he himself took an active role during the heists. I guess it made sense because the Manalese's heists depended on acting and you never knew when you needed an old man character to fill a role. I didn't find him completely intimidating, but I still felt that he was respectable as the boss of his family. He was always calm, and knew what he was doing.
Roger Sartet
From the beginning of the movie, he was already too wild to be handled. He was the one that had to be broken out of prison, and I assumed that that was because the others were careful enough not to get incriminated. Anyway, even though he was supposed to be in hiding in Aldo's apartment, he still went out and met with prostitutes, made phone calls, etc. Vittorio told him outright that he didn't trust him.
During the actual heist of the jewels, Sartet was on the police's radar so he had to take the special route of stealing Evans' identity to get onto the plane without detection. I thought that was an interesting method.
In the end, Roger just wanted to get the money that he was promised and to run off. I suppose Manalese had to kill him to prevent Sartet from becoming a witness against the Manalese family.
Commissaire Le Goff
He was the lead police officer in charge of this case. He did have a personal story line during this film in that he was trying to quit smoking. However, when they were getting hot on the heels of the Maneleses, he needed to have a smoke again. I guess he needed his vices in order to keep his edge.
Jeanne Manalese
She was always treated as an outsider in the Manalese family, presumably because she wasn't of Italian origin. In the end, it was her brief kiss with Sartet that was their undoing. The reveal from Roberto was the concrete proof that Vittorio needed to get rid of both her and Sartet. It's curious that Aldo was so neutral about this whole situation. It really seemed he cared more about killing Sartet than the relationship with his wife, but I guess that goes on to show that it was an unhappy marriage to begin wtih.
Other
The look and style of this movie was soooo chic. I felt that Aldo and Jeanne's apartment was so modern and cool, especially with the fold-down bed, and the orange accents everywhere (including Jeanne's clothing).
Though the music was composed by Ennio Morricone, I felt that its impact on the movie was so-so. In one of the gang-themed music, there was this "boing" sound that just felt so out of place, and it made it hard for me to take the film more seriously.
I also thought it was cool that the film was so multilingual. The characters spoke French while in France, they spoke Italian (or Sicilian?) while amongst the Manalese family, and many characters spoke English while dealing with the Americans, or with international service workers such as hotel workers and flight workers.
Overall
Overall, I thought this was a fun heist movie. It was thrilling and fast-paced considering that most movies in this time period were slower than the movies of now. The story was constantly moving and I didn't really feel bored. And the visuals were very chic and pleasing. I would recommend it!
Story
I would say this was a heist movie with gangster/mafia undertones. I was surprised to see that this movie didn't delve too much into gang relationships and gangster culture. I didn't mind that though, because I do think that gangs are a bit romanticized in such movies, and I was more interested in the heist anyway.
I was a bit surprised by the ending, to be honest. Sartet was always the outsider because of his reckless ways. I had expected him to get his money and to run away with Jeanne in the end, but I guess Vittorio decided that he'd take him down with them if the entire family was going down.
Characters
There was a relatively large cast of characters, but many of them were more "role players" than developed characters with their own intentions and goals.
Vittorio Manalese
He was the boss of the Manalese family. I thought it was interesting that he himself took an active role during the heists. I guess it made sense because the Manalese's heists depended on acting and you never knew when you needed an old man character to fill a role. I didn't find him completely intimidating, but I still felt that he was respectable as the boss of his family. He was always calm, and knew what he was doing.
Roger Sartet
From the beginning of the movie, he was already too wild to be handled. He was the one that had to be broken out of prison, and I assumed that that was because the others were careful enough not to get incriminated. Anyway, even though he was supposed to be in hiding in Aldo's apartment, he still went out and met with prostitutes, made phone calls, etc. Vittorio told him outright that he didn't trust him.
During the actual heist of the jewels, Sartet was on the police's radar so he had to take the special route of stealing Evans' identity to get onto the plane without detection. I thought that was an interesting method.
In the end, Roger just wanted to get the money that he was promised and to run off. I suppose Manalese had to kill him to prevent Sartet from becoming a witness against the Manalese family.
Commissaire Le Goff
He was the lead police officer in charge of this case. He did have a personal story line during this film in that he was trying to quit smoking. However, when they were getting hot on the heels of the Maneleses, he needed to have a smoke again. I guess he needed his vices in order to keep his edge.
Jeanne Manalese
She was always treated as an outsider in the Manalese family, presumably because she wasn't of Italian origin. In the end, it was her brief kiss with Sartet that was their undoing. The reveal from Roberto was the concrete proof that Vittorio needed to get rid of both her and Sartet. It's curious that Aldo was so neutral about this whole situation. It really seemed he cared more about killing Sartet than the relationship with his wife, but I guess that goes on to show that it was an unhappy marriage to begin wtih.
Other
The look and style of this movie was soooo chic. I felt that Aldo and Jeanne's apartment was so modern and cool, especially with the fold-down bed, and the orange accents everywhere (including Jeanne's clothing).
Though the music was composed by Ennio Morricone, I felt that its impact on the movie was so-so. In one of the gang-themed music, there was this "boing" sound that just felt so out of place, and it made it hard for me to take the film more seriously.
I also thought it was cool that the film was so multilingual. The characters spoke French while in France, they spoke Italian (or Sicilian?) while amongst the Manalese family, and many characters spoke English while dealing with the Americans, or with international service workers such as hotel workers and flight workers.
Overall
Overall, I thought this was a fun heist movie. It was thrilling and fast-paced considering that most movies in this time period were slower than the movies of now. The story was constantly moving and I didn't really feel bored. And the visuals were very chic and pleasing. I would recommend it!