"The Price of Fear": Four Cockroaches

Reinhold 2021-12-22 08:01:03

I believe that for most people, the name "Henry George Cruz" sounds relatively unfamiliar, but adding the nickname "Hitchcock of Europe" might add a lot of weight. Although many titles like "XX of a certain country" or "XX II" are often either exaggerated or exaggerated, for the French director, he is worthy of comparison with Xi Pang.

Because Henry George Cruz was forced to leave his homeland during the fall of France in World War II, he was a big blow, and he became cynical and even hated humans. Therefore, the miserable world, despicable humanity, and small humans often Will appear in his movie. "The Price of Fear" is one of Cruzo's most famous works, and it is also an out-and-out noir film. It not only won the two major awards at the Cannes and Berlin Film Festival at that time, but also set a template for many films in later generations.


In fact, the four cockroaches tied together at the beginning of the film can smell the ridicule and fate of the film. There is a Chinese saying "Grasshopper on a rope", which means the same fate that is difficult to escape. It is the same thing as these four cockroaches. It heralds the tragic end of the four main characters in the film and their own vulgarity.

The length of the film is almost two and a half hours, and there is a clear distinction between the front and the back. The first half has a slow pace, and the director has spent a considerable amount of time describing it. The background of the story is selected in a small Latin American town after World War II, where the climate is harsh, desolate and dilapidated, people's livelihood is declining, and epidemics are prevalent. Refugees who fled from Europe and the local people are mixed, leaving their homes and living hard. It is easy to get in and get out. For them, this is almost a dead place. Cruzo showed the audience a gloomy and bleak picture, which also paved the way for the four of them to be willing to commit a personal risk.


The largest local company is an oil company invested by the Americans. One day, an oil well caught fire and someone needed to transport a large amount of nitroglycerin to extinguish the fire. The problem is that nitroglycerin is extremely destructive. Petroleum companies have no dedicated transport vehicles, and the road conditions along the way are very difficult. The US managers are afraid of accidents and do not want to use the union to transport them. Therefore, they can only offer high rewards, hoping that those who come from The refugees in Europe acted as cannon fodder. In the end, Mario and Joe from France, Bimba from the Netherlands, and Luigi from Italy became the "lucky ones" of this trip.

As a result, the rhythm of the second half of the film suddenly became tense. From the beginning of the truck loading, the audience's hearts were lifted into their throats, and Cruzot's clever technique of creating atmosphere and setting details was exhaustive. The director meticulously constructed four high-risk areas: gravel roads that need to maintain a certain speed per hour, rotted and slippery suspension bridges at the turn of the mountain road, boulders blocking the road in the middle of the road, and large pits formed by oil spills. Especially in the last three sections, the director used suspense and fear on the one hand, editing and details on the other hand to create a huge sense of oppression, even from the current point of view.


While piling up suspense, Cruzo never forgets to portray characters. In the first half of the film, he used Mario and others as representatives to outline the filth, barbarism and greed of mankind. In the second half of the transportation process, the despicable, selfish, and timid nature of the four people is further highlighted. Especially Mario, although he finally reached his destination alive, he finally broke down under the double pressure of treacherous and intrigue. In addition, the director also used the film to mock the US imperialism's stubborn life, as well as the plunder and persecution of other countries, demonstrating his abhorrence to capitalism and opportunism.

Don’t you want to see a happy ending? Not really! Cruzo's attitude towards this world is both angry and pessimistic, so I will add a tragedy to you at the end. Mario, who was paid, was very sad, drove into an S shape, and finally died in the valley with the truck and the people. So far, the "four cockroaches" have not been spared, forming a strong contrast with the celebrating waltz in the small town. The cruelty and impermanence of the audience are severely imprinted in the hearts of the audience.

View more about The Wages of Fear reviews

Extended Reading
  • Keyon 2022-03-24 09:02:11

    The scene on the poster is the saddest. Poor people have their hatred, human nature really can't stand the test of the director, and people's sorrow is not the evil result of the imperfect economic and social development, the history of primitive accumulation of capital is the history of the weak. Artistic and ideological are remarkable masterpieces.

  • Hilda 2022-03-25 09:01:10

    4.5 stars! The endless use, development, and excavation of nature, where there are capitals that wantonly control and exploit people, as well as poor, unemployed and restless residents, immigrants and homeless people, it can be said that the space in the film itself constitutes a fearful space. Incarnation, everyone longs to escape, but everyone is trapped by it. Crazy is like this, because it has been like this since the beginning of the task, people have long been like walking corpses, giving everything in exchange for something to escape and start life again, but drive carefully on the edge of the cliff and dance happily on the edge of the cliff , what is the difference between the two endings? It was as if everything had been decided upon accepting that task, as if it had been decided long before coming to this space, there was no turning back, in the truck, in the coffin on wheels, towards the end, towards the void. In the film, the four people suffered various difficulties, but they all escaped and overcame it, but what did the oil that killed the three people in the end foreshadowed, and what was connected behind it was self-evident, and finally followed Mario and fell next to the burning oil. , can also be said to be a response to this self-evident and a symbol of the burnt body and mind.

The Wages of Fear quotes

  • Bill O'Brien: The Hell with the Union! There's plenty of tramps in town, all volunteers. I'm not worried. To get that bonus, they'll carry the entire charge on their backs.

    Bradley: You mean you're gonna put those bums to work?

    Bill O'Brien: Yes, Mr. Bradley, because those bums don't have any union, nor any families. And if they blow up, nobody'll come around bothering me for any contribution.

  • Dick: When I was a kid, I used to see men go off on this kind of jobs... and not come back. When they did, they were wrecks. Their hair had turned white and their hands were shaking like palsy! You don't know what fear is. But you'll see. It's catching, it's catching like small pox! And once you get it, it's for life! So long, boys, and good luck.