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Max, a veteran Parisian gangster, has pulled off his last job — a gold heist at Orly — and wants nothing more than a quiet retirement. When his best friend is kidnapped by a rival gang, Max is pulled back into the underworld one final time. Jacques Becker's masterpiece of French noir is less about crime than about loyalty, aging, and the price of a life lived outside the law. Jean Gabin's performance set the template for the cinematic gangster who has outlasted his time.
One of the foremost authorities on French cinema, Ginette Vincendeau has written extensively on the French New Wave, film noir, and stardom in French film. Her expertise on Gabin and the gangster tradition is unparalleled.
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