I intend to deal explicitly with the ending of this film. Be warned.
Many comments have dealt with the gradual build-up of tension and character which makes this film so riveting. They are all true. But a lot of people cannot understand the ending, and therefore condemn it. The ending is, however, integral to the meaning of the film as a whole. These four men are warned that taking this job, no matter how much it pays, will cost them their lives. We understand that they are in a situation where one mistake will cost them their lives, and only fearlessness can save them. We see that M. Jo, a bully who gets what he wants by pushing people like Luigi around, turns into a snivelling coward when faced with a couple of tons of nitro he can't bully. His fear causes him to lose others' respect, his self-respect, and eventually his life. But our hero has no fear, and so of course he must survive, right? Wrong. Fear protects us, keeps us from endangering ourselves. Without fear, our hero cannot keep himself out of danger. Therefore he dies. Stupidly. And it's his own fault.
Think about what was going on in 1953; millions of people had eight years earlier come out of a situation as nail-biting as driving a truck full of nitro. They talk about the "lost generation" being the survivors of the First World War, but the same happened in the Second. The ending makes sense of the title; not only the wages of sin but the wages of fear (of having to face extreme fear, that is)is death. It is brilliant how a film which is so entertaining on a superficial level is also so deep.
Many comments have dealt with the gradual build-up of tension and character which makes this film so riveting. They are all true. But a lot of people cannot understand the ending, and therefore condemn it. The ending is, however, integral to the meaning of the film as a whole. These four men are warned that taking this job, no matter how much it pays, will cost them their lives. We understand that they are in a situation where one mistake will cost them their lives, and only fearlessness can save them. We see that M. Jo, a bully who gets what he wants by pushing people like Luigi around, turns into a snivelling coward when faced with a couple of tons of nitro he can't bully. His fear causes him to lose others' respect, his self-respect, and eventually his life. But our hero has no fear, and so of course he must survive, right? Wrong. Fear protects us, keeps us from endangering ourselves. Without fear, our hero cannot keep himself out of danger. Therefore he dies. Stupidly. And it's his own fault.
Think about what was going on in 1953; millions of people had eight years earlier come out of a situation as nail-biting as driving a truck full of nitro. They talk about the "lost generation" being the survivors of the First World War, but the same happened in the Second. The ending makes sense of the title; not only the wages of sin but the wages of fear (of having to face extreme fear, that is)is death. It is brilliant how a film which is so entertaining on a superficial level is also so deep.