Claude Autant-Lara: Le diable au corps (1946)

Cast: Micheline Presle, Gérard Philipe, Palau, Henri Gaultier, Richard Francoeur
"Bunman" meets "Dr Lamb"! Beneath this anorexic premise lies the archetypal early 1990's Category III film. Neither a classic nor a tasteful experience, but if a dose of sex, violence, and black humour is what you want, then this film just might fit the bill.
Chang Cheh strays from his period kung-fu heroic bloodshed pictures to deliver The Delinquent, a powerful youth melodrama featuring the famed filmmaker's tortured themes! Chung Wong is John, a lower-class kid whose frustration with his tough life and low-class status put him on a collision course for tragedy. A gang of local thugs plans to secure a small fortune by robbing a local storage depot guarded by John's father. To pull off the heist, hey try to persuade John into getting them the safe combination. John doesn't fall for it though, even with the promise of money and sex thrown in. Unfazed, the gang leader ups the bribe with a cool car and the gorgeous Bei Di - and who wouldn't agree to that? John agrees to help, provided that they perform the robbery when his father is not on the job. But John's best intentions don't guarantee a happy end. Things go wrong, and John must seek revenge against all those responsible - including possibly himself! Action director Lau Ka Leung handles the explosive fight sequences for The Delinquent, a harrowing action-drama that's as dark and emotionally powerful as Chang Cheh films get!






PW: malamute