Sorcerer (1977)

For some time I have been wishing to discuss this film, but haven't had the time to sit down and properly compose the essay of a post that was initially inspired by my first two viewings of this film. Still, I would like to discuss it, so I hope my notes will be enough to get a dialogue started! Also, the meme above I felt perfectly sums up my feelings from the fist time I watched the film and then subsequent viewings. It took me  a while to warm up to it, but now I find the film really fascinating.

The first time I saw this movie, I was very confused by Nilo and his motives. He was shown as being well-off financially and not being trapped in the town like everyone else was, so why did he kill Marquez to take his seat on the truck? Why did he put himself in danger when he obviously did not need the money or reward? He was always shown as appearing pensive and originally I thought he was possibly involved in the bombing of the oil field and perhaps attempting to sabotage any attempts to extinguish the fire.

After reading an online discussion about the same confusion regarding Nilo, I realized that he could very well be the assassin that was sent to kill Jackie. The odd thing about that is he had tons of opportunities to kill Jackie without going along on the whole trek to the oil field. For example, he could have killed Jackie instead of Marquez and been done with it, or he could have killed Jackie the moment he was alone with him in the truck. Why didn't he? But still, with the idea that Nilo was intending to kill Jackie and not getting too bogged down in details, I was able to find more depth to the film and enjoyed it much more with my second viewing.

Assuming Nilo was an assassin, do you think Jackie knew what Nilo's intentions were? When they first get in the truck together, Jackie speaks harshly to him, telling him he has been watching him and not to try anything tricky. So it seems he at least suspects Nilo's motives. At least he knew he killed Marquez. Though it seems Jackie knows a lot about everyone in town, including Serrano's history in banking. It is possible Jackie was just prone to paranoia, knowing someone could be sent to kill him any moment, and kept tabs on everyone. I did like how, in desperation, Jackie chases after and demands help from Nilo before crossing the bridge, knowing he was the man who could at any point kill him.

I find it interesting how in the first half of the movie, Nilo is shown as cool and composed, silently watching the goings-on around the town and waiting for the right moment to strike. His dedication to his job shows up when he stealthily kills Marquez to accompany Jackie on the journey to the oil field. It's a dangerous journey, but he seems to be confident that he will accomplish what he set out to do and possibly reap the benefits of extra cash for delivering the nitro. He is a dealer in death and such things seem to not phase him.

However, the moment things start to get really rough and his own life is truly in jeopardy, namely during the bridge scene, Nilo is terrified. He even tries to run away from the job until Jackie catches him and threatens him. It makes you wonder, if Nilo really was sent to kill Jackie, he could have just easily killed him right then and there and just left the truck, since he obviously had no real stake in the oil company crisis. So was he blinded by fear and forgot his true mission? Is he going through an identity crisis, having felt true fear for the first time -- the fear his own victims likely felt moments before their death?

Nilo's fear is further accentuated after successfully crossing the bridge. Jackie is cocky and confident and demonstrates his cutthroat nature by being eager for the possibility of earning double shares if Serrano and Martinez don't make it across. But we see Nilo is still petrified. As Jackie rambles on about double shares, Nilo just stares ahead likely not even listening to anything but his own fearful thoughts and replaying the bridge crossing in his mind.

Jackie, Serrano, and Martinez all end up accepting the dangerous job they need to do and push forward despite the danger. Nilo, a man who deals in death, has not accepted his fate and is afraid of his own demise.

Jackie Scanlon

I liked how Jackie had a little bit of a "redemption" moment when Nilo is dying in the cab and he tries to distract him from the agony by talking to him and fantasizing about what they could do with the money they would earn. With how cutthroat and selfish Jackie was portrayed, I thought it was a nice little moment of humanity.

The scene where Jackie finally delivers the nitro is one of my favorites. The workers pry the nitro away from him and he keeps mindlessly staggering toward the column of fire, accepting his destiny of damnation. When he finally collapses, the workers simply stare at him and make no move to help, leaving him to his fate. A few of them appear shocked, perhaps too frozen with their own fear to reach out to help another.

Role of Fear
Speaking of fear, it is a central theme in the film and, indeed, was based on a book (and earlier film) called Wages of Fear. We see the reactions of terror any time the nitro is onscreen. It is carefully loaded onto the trucks and throughout the journey, the characters shoot it frightful glances as if not checking on it will cause it to blow. We can think of the nitro as the symbol of fear in the film.

Interestingly, though, the only time we see the nitro actually accidentally explode is after one of the trucks rolls down a steep hill into a gully. The resulting crash, even without carrying the nitro, would have been enough to kill or seriously injure both the driver and the passenger. It's not really the nitro that was the problem.

Further, when Lazaro is out of gas and Jackie finishes the journey on foot, we see him swaying and stumbling with exhaustion, nearly falling over while carrying a single box of the unstable nitro. So clearly the nitro was not as volatile as everyone thought. How do you think the film would have changed if the main characters were not as scared of the nitro? Did their fear help or hinder them, and would there have been fewer deaths if they were not afraid?

Motivation

I believe the cruelty of fate and the futility of fighting it to be the overarching message of Sorcerer. At several points in the film, Jackie is eager to earn the money promised to him. After crossing the dangerous bridge, he rides the adrenaline high and greedily rambles about the possibility of earning double shares if the other truck does not make it. However, once he successfully earns the money and is given the check, he realizes the futility of it all and how the oil company went back on their promise of a cash-only deal.

It is known that he faked his identity and the check is made out to his assumed name. He may have even realized that money would not help him out of his predicament anyway. I enjoyed the subtlety of the two law enforcement agents who knew about Jackie's fake passport casually walk by as soon as he receives his check as if to remind him that it is all worthless, or that they at least have something on him to make him forfeit all or part of his newly amassed wealth.

The futility of all Jackie's efforts is further accentuated by the man in charge of the operation telling him that in 6 months, he may be forced to find a new job, insinuating that the heroic trek was for naught. It is strongly implied that Jackie is killed shortly after as well.

Other Questions
One thing that I am still a bit confused about is why Jackie says he can't go to Monagua? Was it just because it would remind him of Nilo and how he died? While he and Nilo talked about going there after the job, it never felt like they were particularly close, nor did Jackie seem the type to be that emotionally impacted by such things. But perhaps I am wrong. Jackie did witness so many horrors that perhaps he just wanted to distance himself from anything that would remind him of any of them.

Which brings me to another thing I wonder about. Why do you think Jackie was so saddened by seeing Serrano's note to his wife? He and Serrano were never close, and he was often at odds with the man. In fact, Jackie was greedily excited to think that Serrano and Martinez would not make it to the oil field. So do you think he had survivor's guilt? Out of all the men, Serrano was the least immoral. He seemed like a victim of circumstance more than anything else and he always tried to be civil and, for the most part, kind to his companions. Jackie knew at least a little about the man's background, so it is possible he knew he had a family as well.

Why do you think Jackie took the time to dance with the scrub woman? Did he feel sorry for her and wanted to do something nice for her as his last act? Did he just want to do something slightly pleasurable before he died and that was all he could access? Going along with the film's theme of the inevitability and cruelty of fate, it was this act of dancing with the scrub woman that gets him killed. If he had just left, his traitorous friend and the mafia hitman may have missed him.

Misc Details
I noticed that in the vignette introducing Jackie Scanlon, actor Roy Scheider appears to be wearing a prosthetic on his nose that makes the bridge of his nose straighter and extend higher on his face. Roy Scheider's nose was broken from a boxing match when he was younger, so having the prosthetic on before his character was in the car accident makes it apparent that his character's nose was broken in the wreck. I thought that was an interesting detail. It's such a small thing small that I wonder who decided to do that. I also wonder how many casual viewers even noticed it.