It is quite incredible to think that Sergio Corbucci made Il Mercenario in the same year as the fantastic Il Grande Silenzio. They both superb Italian Westerns but they are very different. Il Grande Silenzio stands out in part for it's setting; the film is set in the winter, the ground thick with snow, and also for it's bleak and sombre tone. Il Mercenario setting is much more in keeping with other Westerns with sunny vistas and in stark contrast to Il Grande Silenzio the film is more upbeat with more humour and action.Sergei Kowalski (Franco Nero), often referred to in the film as 'The Polak, is a Polish immigrant who after accepting a job from the Garcia brothers to transport some silver across the Mexican border encounters Paco (Tony Musante) and his group of revolutionaries. Paco and his gang have seized a mine and are waiting for General Garcia and his army to arrive. Unsure how to defeat them Paco agrees to pay Kowalski to help them. Kowalski is the Mercenary of the title even renegotiating his pay during fights and declaring "I'm on my side, always." Through ingenuity and a very large machine gun Kowalsi manages to force the army into retreat and the gang escape. Hot on their heels is General Garcia and Curly, played by Jack Palance, another mercenary and one who is determined to catch Kowalski and Paco. Jack Palance is fantastic as Curly (also the name of his character in the dreadful City Slicker films) managing to play the character as both camp and menacing.
Kowalski is hired full time as the military advisor for the gang and is paid handsomely for his help in the revolution. The gang go on a looting spree aided by the tactics of Kowalski. A growing obsession with money and the mercenary nature of Kowalski causes constant friction, especially with Columba, a female member, played by the beautiful Giovanna Ralli. Columba is a strong female character in a very male genre and aside from being the most moral of all the characters she is also adept at asserting her views, although often using her sexuality to get what she wants. This is not necessarily a bad thing as it is often her seducing and tricking the men rather than the other way around, again reflecting the politics of the late 60s as women became more sexually liberated and independent.
The revolution is ultimately corrupted by the influence of the mercenary Kowalski and Paco is corrupted by the money they steal, losing sight of the revolution they are supposed to be fighting. The story was originally written by Franco Solinas and Giorgio Arlorio and inspired by the Bertold Brecht's Die Ausnahme und die Regel. The film therefore has quite overtly leftist politics obviously influenced by the political climate in the sixties. The film was rumoured to have originally been directed by Gillo Pontecorvo with whom Franco Solinas had already made the breathtaking La Battaglia di Algeri. The script was rewritten though, passing through many hands, and ultimately directed by Sergio Corbucci who also rewrote some parts. Some of the politics remain but unlike the cutting and very serious political westerns such as A Bullet For The General, Il Mercenario was injected with a lot of fun and is one of few Italian Westerns that is funny without slipping into silliness.
Franco Nero is excellent as Kowalski both comedic and laconically cool, at times perhaps making the mercenary character too likeable and confusing any political message. He develops an amusing trademark, lighting his cigarette using a match struck on whatever or whoever is nearest, in one scene a woman's cleavage. There is a very comedic sequence when Curly is captured and Kowalski forces him to strip naked before sending him off into the desert. It is obvious that although Corbucci wanted to retain the politics of the original script he wanted this film to be fun. The film is an action movie with a reasonably fast paced narrative and a series of exciting action sequences culminating in the thrilling Arena scene. The action is fun rather than brutal and any brutality is dished out by Curly, including finishing off one revolutionary by placing a grenade in his mouth.
The music is a real star in this film as well, beautifully composed by Ennio Morricone, this is one of my favourite Morricone Western soundtracks. There is a wide variety of styles on the soundtrack which match the different moods of the scenes and complimenting without overpowering the action. Particularly impressive is the music from the final Arena scene which was later appropriated by Tarantino for Kill Bill Vol.2.The narrative is told in a looped fashion as it begins with Kowalski watching Paco performing as a clown in an arena and the majority of the film is a flashback as Kowalski remembers how it was they got to this point. The film then returns to this scene for the thrilling shoot-out between Paco and Curly. This is an interesting technique but not one that I felt added that much to the film.
Il Mercenario is a fantastic Italian Western and has tons of action, humour and politics. Not perhaps Corbucci's best, my favourite is certainly Il Grande Silenzio, and not as iconic as Django, this is still a great film and should be seen by any fan of the genre. The only way to currently watch this film at home in it's original 2.35.1 aspect ratio, which is crucial to the cinematography and framing, is on the rare Japanese DVD. This DVD only has the option for English or Japanese audio but supposedly Koch Media is due to release a remastered DVD with Italian and English in late 2009 which will hopefully restore this oft ignored film to it's rightful place in the canon of Italian Westerns.
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