SOLO (1970)

3 stars

Radiance Films. Limited Edition Blu ray. Out Now

The great thing about boutique labels like Radiance Films, unlike many who constantly recycle their catalogue with new shiny editions, is that they seem to be digging around in the the dark corners of cinema, scouring through distributor catalogues, to find the more interesting and often obscure titles and highlighting the work of often little known filmmakers. One such is the amazingly prolific Jean-Pierre Mocky, who I have to admit before their recent box set of three of his films, I had never heard of him. With some 500 credits on the IMDb, he is a French actor, writer, director and editor.

One of his earlier works, SOLO is a more straightforward thriller with political overtones, than say the weird LITAN (1982), which was one of the productions highlighted in the aforementioned box set release.

Mocky not only directed this one and co-wrote the script with Alain Moury, but he is also the star. The film opens with a massacre at a wild orgiastic party attended by rich men and young women who are gunned down by black clad leftist revolutionaries.

Meanwhile womanising and somewhat carefree Vincent Cabral (Mocky) has just finished a stint as a violinist on a cruise ship – where he also managed to steal jewellery from the ladies onboard. he returns to Paris, planning to catch up with his brother Virgile, who he hasn’t seen in several years. Before long he learns that his sibling is the leader of the political activists and are planning another strike in the city. With the police after Virgile, Vincent is soon caught up in trouble – trying to protect his younger brother, whilst not believing in his idealistic views.

This was inspired by the student uprisings in France in 1968, though I am not familiar with this part of history – hey, that’s what Wikipedia is for right? Mocky is fine in the lead role, nicely capturing the slight bemusement of his character, as, even during an escape attempt he finds time to flirt! The film is clearly low budget – the toy boat shown as the cruise ship that Vincent was playing his violin on is a bit a bit of a giveaway – but it doesn’t suffer due to monetary constraints

Steve Kirkham

EXTRAS

Interviews with screenwriter and star Jean-Pierre Mocky; with actor Anne Deleuze (2022, 17 mins); with Jean-Pierre Mocky’s assistant and friend Eric Le Roy (2022, 15 mins)

Image gallery with original promotional materials

Plus Reversible sleeve featuring designs based on original posters; limited edition booklet featuring archival interviews with Mocky

Limited edition of 3000 copies