There is nothing like having your nerves frayed to shreds by a brilliant director who knows how to create something so unbearably suspenseful (the mise-en-scène and editing are phenomenal) using the frame of biting political satire to tell an amazing story of friendship and fear.

Since this was made by Henri-Georges Clouzot, the "French Hitchcock", I figured it might be worth seeing. After all, this is the same guy who made the excellent Diaboliques. That, and this film is often considered to be one of, if not the greatest suspense thrillers of all time. So yeah, I finally saw it, and, you know what, it is quite good. Unfortunately I didn't find it to be quite the masterpiece it's reputed to be, but yeah, when this film hits the mark, it really hits it quite well and hard. The plot follows four desperate foreigners in an impoverished Latin American country who are picked by The Southern Oil Company (basically the king of kings in the area) to drive two trucks loaded down with nitroglycerin across some of the world's most treacherous terrain to help put out a raging oil fie on the other side of the country. The men know it's essentially a suicide mission, but hey, the pay is $2,000 per man, and, they are desperate, and it would add excitement to their dismal lives, so why not do it? And that is the key to this film: it's a solid study in cynicism, greed, imperialism, desperation, and tension. This two and a half hour romp spends the first half slowly building up the characters and their situations while the second half (the best part), focuses on the gripping and nail biting expedition. I do think that, even though slow burning films can be good, the first half is too slow and drawn out, and get fairly tedious at times. It's not a total bore, but, compared to the second half, it's pretty uneven, And, while I did love the suspense and tension of the trek, I don't think it's quite as nerve racking as I was led to believe. Maybe that's because I was worn out from getting through the exposition. Even though the exposition could be tighter, these are some great characters, and the dynamics between them are pretty well done. It kinda reminded me of Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and even The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, and, while I like those films more, the comparisons are definitely a compliment. I must say too that the film is pretty ballsy with how cynical, gritty, and uncompromising it is, especially for the time. Some charged it with being Anti-AMerican, but that's not totally right, This film isn't exclusive with its condemnations- it's an equal opportunity kind of affair. Besides the great set up, good characters, and great acting, I loved the subtext, and especially the cinematography and editing. The ending, too, is probably one of the darkest and bleakest I've seen in a while. If you want a movie that is tense, gritty, and intelligent, definitely check this out, even if it is flawed and overrated.