Bullets Don’t Argue / Le pistole non discutono (Mario Caiano, 1964)

[Mickey13]

Copied from the Spagvemberfest 2025 thread:

@Mickey13

Caiano’s handling of the material comes out “nice” in the way taking a sip of water while being fully hydrated is “nice”; in other words, though pic’s pacing, camerawork and production values are on the adequate side, the execution hardly ever stands out in any way, shape or form. Perhaps that would have been more condonable had the rest of the project turned out somewhat bolder in substance. Regrettably, the storyline here leaves a lot to be desired: it essentially comes down to the pair of brothers displaying divergent tendencies with Horst Frank’s character being the nihilistic, merciless outlaw who browbeats his younger brother into submission. The contention between the two was clearly devised as a springboard for the latter to redeem himself in film’s subsequent developments; the issue resides in that he refuses to join his brother in the path of crime not on some lofty moral grounds, considering his initial eagerness to become a criminal himself, but inasmuch as he merely recoils from violence and appears too squeamish to engage in a full-blown conflict with all of its corollaries. This is not exactly remedied by the fact that he scarcely comports himself with any dignity throughout, throwing temper tantrums and being reduced to tears on a pretty much regular basis. As a consequence of his ceaseless wimpishness, his redemption arc in the second half simply does not work and comes to look obtuse for the most part. The sheriff’s backstory about him being forced to work during his honeymoon, what with him having just entered into matrimony, does not meaningfully contribute to the plot which promptly begs the question why it was introduced to begin with. Other than Frank’s vigorous performance and Morricone’s gratifying score, there isn’t much to take pleasure in here.