movie review - For a Few Dollars More
the journal of Michael Werneburg
twenty-seven years and one million words
This is the sequel to the gritty and seminal "Fistful of Dollars". This volume starts with the assassination of an anonymous horseman on a trail in some bleak frontier area between the US and Mexico. The story quickly comes out in a combination of narration and introductory scenes: two "bounty-killers" are looking for the same gang. To flush out their quarry, they spring a gang member from jail so that one of the bounty-killers can operate "from the inside". Before you know it, a wide swath of the frontier sands are stained red and the stakes are essentially unlimited with a vast fortune in stolen gold in play and the mercenary "heroes" having been found out at precisely the wrong time.
The whole thing feels like it must have been quite new at the time. There are no "good guys", there are no clear motives, there is no hope, and if you're looking to the bleak flash-backs for a change in tone my friend you are watching the wrong movie. I mean, it's not just what happened but that it's actually the villain having the flash-backs and that the guilt and sorrow and confusion are driving him mad. It literally ends with corpses being piled high in a horse-drawn cart.
I enjoyed the nuanced plot, the three-dimensional "bad guys", the one-dimensional lead character, and the revelations that come together at the very end of the film. The cast of this thing is simply amazing, with even minor henchmen putting in unforgettable performances. It is an unrelentingly tense and unpleasant viewing, so definitely not for everyone. But honestly, it doesn't feel particularly over-the-top and the hellish story feels realistic.
Strongly recommended.