French crime writer and film director Jos頇iovanni died on
Sunday. He was 80 years old and lived in Switzerland. I think
his first book, Le Trou (The Break), is the only one
translated in English. Jacques Becker, Claude Sautet and
Jean-Pierre Melville directed excellent movies from
Giovanni's novels (Le Trou, Classe tous risques and Le Deuxi譥
Souffle). Prison novel Le Trou (1959) was based on Giovanni's
own experiences: he was a criminal who was sentenced to death
but was later pardoned. A few of his novels has been
translated in Finnish, and I think he's one of the best in
depicting criminals as they are: folks like us, but a little
different. His style is both hard-boiled and noir and his
main themes are loyalty and betrayal. His own films are not
too bad, either. Most of them he based on his own books, and
he used actors like Lino Ventura, Jean Gabin, Belmondo and
Delon. He also scripted some notable movies, like The
Sicilian Clan (1971).
Tapani Bagge
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