Per qualche dollaro in più (1965)

Third viewing; latest previous viewing on July 10, 2006; first viewed on February 15, 1988.

English title: For a Few Dollars More.

Two bounty hunters team up against a bank robber and his gang.

My 2006 review of this movie on this blog went as follows:

[begin quote]
Synopsis: Two bounty hunters get involved with a bank robber and his gang.

Appraisal: It is my second viewing. The first time I saw it I must have been in a state of semi-conscience, because I gave it a very low rating. In fact, it is a good movie, and the first half hour is truly anthological. After that amazing half hour, the film shifts into a more conventional gear, but never becomes less than interesting.
[end quote]

I'm amazed at the near-identity of my synopses then and now. My appraisal has not changed much either, but I feel now that the film has a good one hour of anthological cinema (rather than just half). That makes up approximately half of the movie. The remainder of it is where plot takes over, and, while one can still sense the formal command of a young master director, I could not help the perception that indeed it had "shift[ed] into a more conventional gear". Also, I must grapple with the reasons I did not like it in 1988 in a more honest way than saying I was "in a state of semi-conscience". The main reason for my dislike probably has to do with a perceived artificiality of the movie. I was somewhat of a purist that disliked anything that was not "authentic", "true-to-life", etc. Also, I sensed some infantility to the whole proceedings, and I think I was right in that perception, but wrong in my reasons for disliking it. The film is very open about it, too, as made manifest in a line by one of the children about the behavior of the two protagonists, comparing it to the games the former liked to play. In order to make sense of this movie, and in fact of the whole non-American western genre, one has to understand that these works are a response to American cultural colonization of the rest of the world. "Serious" non-American films were either being politically confrontational about America, or else tried to depict local cultures away from American influence. Here, the tactic is completely different, akin to the concept of "anthropophagy" postulated by Oswald de Andrade. For a Few Dollars More (and many others) absorb the American culture and process it in such a way that it is robbed of its essence, displaying instead only a outward resemblance to its source. While the result may appear culturally alienated, it is in fact subtly charged with subversive cultural traits. For example, American cinema was gradually becoming more liberal in the 60s, and Westerns were no exception. Italian westerns completely ignored that trend, and turned out to be quite an influence on the subsequent American filmography.

Rating: 68 (up from 62)