Republicans seem to have won in the election. Oh my...One good example that there have been good Americans is Abraham Polonsky's noir masterpiece Force of Evil (1948). Okay, I know there are lots of people willing to give bad credit to Polonsky, because he was a known Communist. I don't think however that anyone can say that Force of Evil is anti-American. It's a well-thought and well-constructed story of what capitalism does to people. Polonsky's genius is in noticing that it destroys people even when taken to the underground culture of organized crime, i.e. numbers racket. The most concerned he is about those little people who can't fight back: the unemployed, elderly, widowers, young lonely women...
Force of Evil is a story of two brothers, one rising up fastly in the gangster world, one giving people a little piece of hope by organizing a small-time numbers business and employing a steady group of people who seem to have nothing much left in their own lives. John Garfield, who plays the successful brother, has to decide whether to force his brother out of the business. The organized crime works like the banks or the other big monetary institutions in capitalism - and everytime violence and destruction ensue. It's like a force of nature, force of evil.
Polonsky directs and writes with verve. The film hasn't dated a bit. It's even a bit difficult to follow, since Polonsky keeps the story moving with such a fast pace and the dialogue reveals only the most necessary bits. Force of Evil resembles and predates Sopranos or The Wire with several decades. I'm pretty sure some of the characters in Sopranos have been modelled out of some of the characters in Force of Evil.
But is Force of Evil noir? The ending is upbeat, no matter what happens to John Garfield's brother. Garfield decides he'll fight the evil of organized crime that is capitalism. If we think that noir is something utterly grim and hopeless, then Force of Evil isn't noir.
This is another film noir that's based on an earlier novel, Ira Wolfert's Tucker's People from 1938. Anyone read that? Comments?
This is one of my favourite noirs. Yes, ist IS noir. Garfield's character may take a stand at the end, but us cynics realize that it will be essentially futile. The guy will be a modern day Sisyphos.
ReplyDeleteRegarding your comment about the American elections - I share your despair, but remember us Europeans are certainly no less prone to vote for bigoted bozos - e.g. Perussuomalaiset, Sverigedemokraterna, Dansk Folkeparti, Forza Italia, etc. I guess it's just the buzzwords at the rallies that differ. Sigh - what's wrong with people?
Hey, I'm sure he'll beat a shit out of every capitalist jerk there is! Why wasn't there ever FORCE OF EVIL II: THE BATTLE CONTINUES??
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, I guess you're right. Your Sverigedemokraterna seem to be more evil than the bozos we have here - even though Sweden must be one of the best countries in the whole world!
The idea of a anti-capitalistic superhero is quite amusing. In fact, it has already been done:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.adlibris.com/fi/product.aspx?lang=fi&isbn=9170375240
It's filled with outrageous puns and references to 1970s Sweden, so it is likely impossible to translate.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_X6F4HnEqbd8/TMmHya9CYyI/AAAAAAAAEoQ/Y8DqjmhkmZk/s1600/Nessle+proggovision.jpg
"Hold on! With my prog-o-vision I can see that some revisionists in Kungsholmen are busy undermining the doctrines of Marxism!"
There's also this, a Finnish cult item from the seventies:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.kvaak.fi/keskustelu/index.php?topic=4185.0
Wow, was that a comic with serious political intentions or was it a parody?
ReplyDeleteBoth, I think. I'm not sure since I've never read it. It's a bit of a rarity and it's never been reprinted.
ReplyDeleteSuperprole accuses You of Deviationism! To the gulag, Social Revolutionary!
ReplyDeleteSuperprole vs. Ubermensch vs. Captain Corporatist! With a brief time-out to collectively (in a freely contracted and/or nationalistic way, of course) smash and atomize Dr. Syn, Alias the AnarchoCrow!