Taking his cue from the Coen brothers and the Monty Python team, Philippe
Carrèse makes a valiant attempt to knock out an off-the-wall
gangster film parody on a shoestring budget but merely ends up churning
out an embarrassing schlock monstrosity. Carrèse's failure
is all the more surprising given his long experience as a television
director (most prominently of the popular series Plus belle la vie) and writer of
crime fiction. An utterly unhinged mix of road movie, polar and
black comedy, Cassos has
within it the germ of an excellent film, but lack of time, resources
and inspiration prevent it from fulfilling its potential. The
film looks like a dummy run for the film that Carrèse intended
to make, too crude and amateurish to be taken seriously, although it
does have a weird artisan charm about it. It will
probably end up a cult classic.
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Film Synopsis
Marc, a small-minded insurance broker from the provinces, has had
enough of his bullying wife and decides to make contact with the
criminal underworld to find someone who will kill her. Toulouse,
a second-rate crook, takes pity on Marc and, motivated more by contempt
than compassion, takes it upon himself to initiate him in the ways of
the modern gangster. For Marc, this proves to be a voyage of
discovery and he surprises himself when he realises he has the
potential to become a killer...
Since the 1920s, Hollywood has dominated the film industry, but that doesn't mean American cinema is all bad - America has produced so many great films that you could never watch them all in one lifetime.
It was American film noir and pulp fiction that kick-started the craze for thrillers in 1950s France and made it one of the most popular and enduring genres.