Jean-Paul Belmondo Double Feature: ‘Ho!’ And ‘Cop Or Hood’

According to film historians Howard S, Berger, Steve Mitchell, and Nathaniel Thompson in their commentary track, it doesn’t sound like either Jean-Paul Belmondo or José Giovanni (whose book Robert Enrico‘s Ho! (1968) was adapted from) were happy with the final result and maybe not pleasing Giovanni (who somehow managed to bury his past in the French Gestapo for years and have a career) is a good thing (and, in case the sarcasm isn’t coming across, being a Nazi is never okay).

Still, it’s a shame Belmondo wasn’t a fan, and there are definitely some arguments to made, with regards to the screenplay by Enrico, Lucienne Hamon, and Pierre Pelegri, that some of their changes from the source material make less story sense, like having Ho’s love interest Bénédicte (Joanna Shimkus) be a fashion model instead of a florist. Given Bénédicte’s financial independence in the film, her staying with Ho becomes less believable [fun trivia fact: in real life Shimkus would marry Sidney Poitier].

However discounted Ho! was by critics at the time, Berger, Mitchell, and Thompson are right in their assessment that Ho! is ripe for reconsideration. I’d go so far as to say that if you ever wanted to get across to someone why Belmondo was a star, this film would be a great place to start.

Starting with the opening, Belmondo and stunts (specifically stunt driving) go together like cheese and crackers, so the backstory that before he became a criminal full time François Holin (Belmondo) was a racecar driver – maybe it’s random but whatever excuse to get him behind the wheel of a vehicle. Unfortunately Ho winds up crashing. His best friend in the other car dies but the scene ends with Ho finding a guinea pig on the side of the road. He pets it. Cut to five years later. Ho is now a getaway driver (despite losing his license) but with much grander ambitions. What was that guinea pig about? An explanation is offered eventually (apparently it was his best friend’s mascot who managed to survive somehow) but late explanation is better than no explanation (it shows the writers are dotting their Is and crossing their Ts, however absurd the answers). Still, the real reason the film works is because of the psychological character study it offers in Francis Hollin, a criminal who used to have to let the nickname “Ho” slide but doesn’t want to anymore and whose tie collection hides a very insecure but charming fellow.

According to Berger, Mitchell, and Thompson, Ho! was a French response to Bonnie and Clyde (this particularly rings true when listening to François de Roubaix‘s score, which will occasionally incorporate ragtime music even though Ho! isn’t a period piece) but they also compare the film to Taxi Driver, with Belmondo getting his own mirror movement a la Robert De Niro. The dark ending just clinches the deal – Ho! is a great movie, and the friendship that develops between Ho and a reporter (Paul Crauchet) who gets roped into covering his crimes is fun to track as well.

By comparison, Georges Lautner‘s Cop or Hood (1979) did very well commercially and was the more, quote on quote, successful movie but, if it weren’t for Belmondo making this film extremely watchable, it has a lot less to offer and really depends on how much you can take the whole cop-who-believes-the-only-way-to-stop-crime-is-by-bending-the-law premise. As someone whose tolerance for stomaching such content has gotten a lot less, Cop or Hood is mostly frustrating but, again, it’s saving grace is being a Belmondo movie because while Belmondo doesn’t make the character’s actions any more justifiable, there’s no denying his charisma.

As Berger, Mitchell and Thompson go over in their commentary track, that’s really how the film was promoted – off Belmondo’s face and name, which are featured on the poster art used for Kino Lorber’s Blu-ray cover. There’s a lot of trying to keep up with what’s going on at first, with the film keeping viewers on the back foot and refusing to answer the titular question – is Belmondo playing a cop or a hood? He’s definitely playing a liar and someone the film lets get away with anything, from driving a car into a woman’s house to making out like parking on the side of the road and pulling out a sleeping bag isn’t unusual behavior (why wouldn’t you just sleep in the car?). When a daughter (Julie Jézéquel) is introduced, that seems like an opportunity for the film to switch gears because finally we know one concrete thing about this character – he has a kid – but it’s right back to being messy from there. Berger, Mitchell and Thompson are right to compliment the supporting cast for playing it straight – there’s some good acting in this movie – but they’re also right to spend a lot of their commentary expressing bafflement at Belmondo’s character’s actions – that’s really the only way to watch Cop or Hood.

Ho! and Cop or Hood are available on Blu-ray now from Kino Lorber.