Le salaire de la peur or Wages of Fear is a 1953 French movie directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot starring Yves Montand.
The film revolves around four European immigrants to the United States, trapped in the town of Las Piedras--a place completely surrounded by deadly barren desert-land and with little contact to the outside world. The men, with no money or way out, are left with no other option but to deliver a dangerous load of nitroglycerin over the harsh terrains of Southern America for a hefty $2,000 reward.
Their journey is tough and overwhelmingly suspenseful; their lives constantly at risk and with an obstacle around each corner.
The film won the 1953 Grand Prize at Cannes Film Festival, and the award for Best Film at the BAFTA in 1955 and is a highly-rated movie among Internet communities, with an IMDB rating of 8.3/10 and a place in the IMDB top 250, 100% on the Rotten Tomatoes tomatometer (with an average rating of 8.8/10), and is our number two in the 'Movie Night' things to do.
Things to look out for
Of course there are some Lost-related goodies to keep an eye out for, if only a few.
- The season one finale, Exodus has a strikingly similar plot to the film. Jack, Kate, Hurley and Locke transport sticks of dynamited (coated in nitroglycerin) from The Black Rock back to the Swan hatch.
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Yves Montand portrays Mario, the protagonist of the film. Carlton Cuse confirmed in the Official Lost Podcast that Montand of Rousseau's science team was in fact named in homage to Wages of Fear.
Damon Lindelof
Yeah, Montand is also missing an arm.Carlton Cuse
That's another story we're dying to tell.Damon Lindelof
And that is officially my favorite line from the finale last year, when Rousseau says "We're about to enter the Dark Territory, and this is where my team started to go crazy, and Montand lost his arm..." So I cannot wait to meet Montand in a flashback one of these days. [Laughs] See his glorious arm.Carlton Cuse
An homage to Wages of Fear.» Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse in the May 19, 2006 Official Lost Podcast
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In Exodus--when talking about the so-called dark territory—Rousseau briefly mentions Montand:
DANIELLEThe Black Rock is not far. This is where it all began, where my team got infected, where Montand lost his arm. We must move quickly.
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When the Losties reach The Black Rock, Doctor Arzt explains the nature of nitroglycerin in a similar fashion to O'Brien in Wages of Fear. O'Brien meets a different fate than Arzt, however...
- In the film, O'Brien (William Tubbs, who we can't help but notice looks a little like a chubby Michael Emerson) suggests that the trucks stagger 30 minutes after each other in the event that one truck explodes. Locke makes a similar suggestion in Exodus:
JACKOkay, this is how we do this: I'll lead; Kate, you're right behind me; then Hurley. John, you bring up the rear. If you start to see me heading the wrong way..LOCKEWe should stagger our formation, keep a safe distance from each other.JACKAll-right, we stagger. If anyone hears anything or sees anything...HURLEYLike the security system that eats people?JACKYeah, like that. You two, you take your packs off--you put them down and you run. You got it?KATEGot it!
- Both the film and the show deal with the idea of the loss of a limb. In Lost Montand is among the characters who have lost an arm as a result of the island mysteries. In Wages of Fear Jo (Montand's on-screen friend) loses his leg. Not to a cloud of black smoke, but to a puddle of black oil.
Our Rating
The film--running in at 2hrs 30mins--is a suspenseful and entertaining ride. We felt, however, that the conclusion to the film was lacking (or non-existent) and that, regardless of its wonderful acting and writing, was dated in the production department, with some things being easier to overlook than others. With that said, we enjoyed it thoroughly. And if you're a film buff or a Lost fan, then you've got no reason not to watch it.
Where to watch
Wages of Fear is available at Amazon on DVD and Blu-Ray, or for rental on Netflix.
