The Last Adventure (1967) – R. Enrico
Wim Wenders listed this on Letterboxd as one of his
top ten movies of all time. I had never
heard of it so thought I should rectify the situation. Pairing Lino Ventura and Alain Delon in 1967
certainly raised my hopes of a J-P Melville inspired film but instead this is a
breezy (but sometimes jarringly brutal) bromance about a pilot and a
mechanic/adventurer who together with a sculpture artist who works with found
junk (Joanna Shimkus) seek sunken treasure in the Congo. Although of normal length, the film seems to
fall into three separate parts, each of which might be a film unto
themselves. First, we see how Shimkus becomes
the third wheel to Ventura and Delon’s relationship, focused on their attempts
to develop and test a fast engine for a plane or racecar. Second, we’re off to the Congo (after a brief
racist interlude not unlike the one in Antonioni’s Eclipse) where the trio
meets Serge Reggiani and hunt for the treasure while being hunted by various
mercenaries. Third, we’re back to France
with the denouement taking place at Fort Boyard (called “Fortress Island” here
and that is exactly what it seems – incredibly scenic and well shot), for a
more typical action movie ending. As directed by Robert Enrico (who filmed the
wonderful An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, 1961, from Ambrose Bierce, used in
the Twilight Zone), the widescreen affair almost seems like a silent film at
times – many montages and I guess no words needed to follow the action. Combined with the “road movie” plot, I guess
it is no surprise what Wenders saw in this.
But despite the best efforts of all concerned, the result still feels
rather languid to me.
