The Day of the Jackal
Being a criminologist has a few perks. Even though I'm not the most prolific one, you are bound to learn tricks of the trade when you study anything for five years. But, when people discover that I study Criminology, a fascinating mixture of exaltation begins waltzing on their faces. Like this old next-door-neighbor of mine, who, after getting to learn about my genre of study, thought I was a government agent of some sort until the very day he died! That I work for the government to catch criminals.
This is partially due to him having mild Kleptomania, a mental disorder that triggers people to involuntarily steal things. And this guy stole many things of mine, including a non functioning bicycle and a potted rose bush that I was given by my sister as a gift as I turned 18. I took care of it for a few weeks until a rosebud bloomed. The next morning it vanished. A few days later, I found it an afternoon walk through my neighborhood, hanging from his second-floor balcony, re potted and trimmed. A few days after he died, his son spoke to me about how he was mentally ill, and his family tried to hide it so that their reputation doesn't get tarnished. Too tragic, perhaps. I digress.
I do not feel proud by saying that I am a lousy criminologist. That is because most of the time, I use whatever knowledge about human behavior I have learned so far to manipulate others in case of escaping out of tricky situations. For example, police patrols have caught me in shady places with soft drugs in large increments, and still, I am walking free.:P You can probably think of the officers as idiots, but it doesn't take a genius to catch somebody with enough weed to make twenty horses fly above cloud number nine and not put them in jail. Still, I've never been to a police precinct other than for research purposes:VV
So, this morning, I have had a revelation of sorts. I felt as if I was Moses having visons. Oh, lord high above, forgive me for that analogy, but I couldn't resist. I suddenly got to understand that, even though I never bothered to study much, I'm a far better criminologist than my classmates. Only because subconsciously, In a way, I've been training my whole life to be a criminologist. My choice of entertainment in any format, analog or digital, was mostly about crimes and criminals.
For example, take the book 'The day of the Jackal' By Frederick Forsyth. In brief, the concept is that "after failing numerous of times to assassinate president Charles Gaulle of france, an outlaw paramilitary group named OSA hires the worlds best Assassin, Edward fox, codename Jackal to finish the job." "After passing many challenges and leaping over many obstacles, right before he was going to finish the job, an irrefutable act of misjudgment and lady fate intervenes. He is killed by the best Parisian detective France had to offer, Claude label."
A classic story of the holiest of battles between light and darkness, good and evil. But still, seemingly, it's the usual cliché.
I am not saying that the book is terrible or anything. I would even go as far as to say this is one of my top ten favorite books ever! But, when the literature is a thriller, there is almost no other way to avoid letting out what happens in the end! Either the hero or the anti-hero wins! Either there is a Coup de tat or a hero saves the president from coup de tat. But, what matters is your choice of giving into reading it.
From "The Day of the Jackal" and many other similar books, I've seldom absorbed the forced battle of grandeur, the modern iterations of the holy crusade with guns. Instead, involuntarily what I breathe in is the why and the how. For example, when he takes the job of assassinating the president, Jackal resorts to his cunning, hence the name jackal. He observes the situation, calculates his options, chooses the best one wisely, and manipulates it accordingly. At the beginning of his mission, he orders the creation of a sniper rifle, unlike anything I've ever seen. It is designed to look like a disabled person's crutch, yet it's a full-fledged high-powered sniper rifle. And he almost killed a president!
In the end, that is the most important thing, isn't it? Thinking out of the box! Going the extra mile. Rather than being an intellectual or merely rational, why not be an ambivert, the best of both worlds! Even if we fail, what would matter is that we tried. And that is the legacy of gods.
This is a rare case where the movie is perhaps better than the book. Casting was perfect so was the camera movement and locations.
Agreed!! Btw that alpha romeo is too dang cool:pp parisian roads, this car and a brunette beside,what more does life has too offer:p:p
But no brunette :VVV The locations are damn near perfect!! Including the castles too! It seems everything in France is eventually appraised as art. Even the roads too