For more than 15 years, two Marseille friends and criminals battle the law, rival gangs, prison authorities and even mined beaches in order to survive.
Acting
Belmondo's physicality crushes you without him saying a word.
Direction
Giovanni's prison sequences feel authentically suffocating.
Cinematography
Marseille never looked this beautifully hopeless.
Director
José Giovanni
Jean-Paul Belmondo
Roberto Borgo, aka 'La Scoumoune'
Claudia Cardinale
Georgia Saratov
Michel Constantin
Xavier Saratov, Georgia's brother and Roberto's friend
Enrique Lucero
Migli, aka 'The Mexican', Roberto's trusted man
Michel Peyrelon
Charlot, aka 'L'Élégant'
Philippe Brizard
'Fanfan', regular at the gaming circle
Alain Mottet
'Ficelle', henchman of Villanova
Aldo Bufi Landi
Jeannot Villanova
Jacques Debary
Carl
Marc Eyraud
'Bonne Aventure', prisoner
Henri Vilbert
Graville, prison guard
Pierre Collet
Prison director
Nicolas Vogel
Grégoire
Luciano Catenacci
Cipriano
Lucie Arnold
Singer
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Giovanni adapted his own novel and drew from his actual prison experiences before becoming a filmmaker.
The title 'La Scoumoune' is Marseille slang for bad luck, cursed from birth — the film argues some men are doomed by their own stubborn devotion.
FR
