This is another masterwork from the Dardenne Brothers. Jeremie Renier who was so good in The Promise is just perfect in this.

I recently saw The Wrestler and realized just how influential this film was and the films of the Dardenne brothers. Of course they were also influenced by Robert Bresson and many of the neo-realists but this is filmmaking at it's finest. Everything is just so subtle and perfect and it builds and builds to a heart-wrenching and emotional conclusion... I wasn't this moved by a film since Au Hazard Balthazar.

This is an awesome samurai/revenge movie. Both tragic and exhilarating at the same time, this is a story of a man taking revenge on not just one person but a whole system that screwed him upside down. This sometimes gets mixed up with the samurai exploitation movies that came out in the 60’s/70’s but it’s light years beyond that.

After 30+ years since it was made…. this movie still shocks and unsettles me. I think this is a perfect time capsule of the crime and hooker infested Manhattan of the 70’s/80’s before the yuppification. One of the best films from the true golden age of American Cinema.. the 70’s.

This is the greatest film ever made and my favorite film of all time. I've seen it 30+ times but should really be seen on the big screen. I wish I saw this at the theater first instead of 1AM on Saturday night on Channel 13.