Wages of Fear (8.25/10)

Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1953
In ‘Wages of Fear’ (8.25), Henri-Georges Clouzot masterfully creates an atmosphere of tension and suspense that keeps the viewer pleasantly engaged throughout the film, but without the anxiety of trashy Hollywood horror film. The story is about an oil company in South Africa that in a panic needs to transport nitro glycerin across rugged terrain. They offer residents in a sleepy economically impoverished town a large sum of money to drive two trucks full of the substance to a remote drilling site. The caveat is that the slightest disturbance to the nitro glycerin could cause the trucks to explode, which given the dilapidated condition of the rural roads is a likely outcome. From the very second the driver’s start their journey, the viewer is half expecting the trucks to blow up at any second, creating a sense of suspense that carries throughout the entire film.

Early in the expedition, conflict quickly arises between the four drivers. With the brunt of the hostility directed towards the eldest member of the group, whose bark is evidently much louder than his bite and in reality is a coward. Regardless, the drivers must work together in overcoming obstacles along the way. What makes the film so successful is the way Clouzot pays attention to the subtle details in order to create a foreboding sense of fear. Having the eldest driver too scared to let go of the steering wheel for even a split second to take a sip of coffee or a puff from a cigarette, or using close ups to show the sweat on their brows or the treads of the tires as they go over potholes in the road are examples of this. Even though the story line is relatively uninteresting, at no point in the film is the viewer ever board, which is a testament to the director’s skill. As a bonus, the film has a very clever ending that ties everything together in a dark and ironic way that only like a master like Clouzot can.