A
genuine classic French thriller that is not for the squeamish, in which a naďve
young builder, desperate for cash, is shocked when the man he is working for
dies of a morphine overdose. He may not now get paid. However, the dead man has
a train ticket and instructions to go to a set rendezvous for work with a big
payout.
Not
knowing any more than this, the builder sets off. Whatever the work is, it is
clearly going to involve crime. The police give chase, but he loses them and
finds the rendezvous.
The
job is actually to be the 13th competitor in a massive game of
Russian roulette. Competitors
literally stand in a circle, with one bullet in each gun chamber pointing their
gun at the head of the man in front. The newcomer’s reluctance to play or shoot
creates paranoia - The people
putting up the stakes think he is an undercover cop, and give him no choice but
to play. Things get very tense as the numbers drop until he is a one to one
against the last survivor. Of course, he wins, but now the men who put him at
stake give chase to recover their assets.
Powerful,
doom laden stuff, and not for the fainthearted. The best Russian roulette
treatment since The Deer Hunter. Tzameti is apparently Georgia-Russian for
thirteen. The film is a Black and white Noir and looks as if it was made in the
1960’s though it is quite recent. Apparently, an American remake is already
planned. (NOOOOO!!!!!).
Arthur Chappell
LINK TO THIS PAGE –http://arthurchappell.me.uk/film.review-13.htm
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