A Fistful of Dollars is the first western that I’ve seen in a long time, long enough that I don’t remember the last one I saw. That’s really odd now that I think about it, since they were a particular favorite of my grandfather’s, so I was excited to sit down and watch this film. If all westerns are like this, I’ve found the new love of my life.
From the first frame to the last, Clint Eastwood (left) defines badass. He’s cool without trying. He’s good without dancing through the poppies. He’s angry but in control. It’s clear that something in his past brought such a distance in his demeanor, but it’s not explored because it doesn’t matter. No one even knows his name, and no one dares ask. He is who he is.
Sergio Leone, the Italian director of the film, made sure right off the bat that the audience knew that the man with no name is one of the good guys. Sort of. We meet him as he enters the town of San Miguel, just on the other side of the Texas/Mexico border. As he takes a drink of water, he watches a child being beaten for a mysterious reason. He begins to react, but stops himself and the situation rights itself. He sees that someone’s being wronged, but it’s not his problem. Not yet, at least.
He heads into town and after getting some details from the bell ringer/ conveniently-placed back story teller meets Silvanito (right), owner of the town’s saloon. San Miguel has been taken over by two families, each vying for control and willing to kill to get it. Caught in the middle is the cowering populace, mostly women and children, as the men have all been caught in the crossfire. The man with no name remarks, “Never saw a town as dead as this one.” He’s right. The only person who works anymore is Piripero, the casket builder.
The stranger plays an interesting game of doublecross. He gets work from one family, gets enough information to be make himself valuable, then goes to work for the other. Before the film is over, he’s switched sides several times, always taking a few family members out on his way. And, while it would be easy to see him as ruthless and amoral, I tend to see him as ruthless and moral, after a fashion.
The stranger, you see, is heading toward a greater good. Taking out one family will leave the town still stuck under the control of a group of thugs. So he takes the dangerous path of getting rid of both families, and if he makes a little cash while he’s at it, what’s the harm?
Along the way, we learn a few things about the stranger. First, he’s always followed by a traveling minstrel armed only with a flute. And man, does he like to play the jazz flute. Call me a purist, but I prefer it when my minstrel plays his guitar. It’s a little less startling.
Second, the man with no name isn’t wholly without compassion. The family (left) of the child he saw as he came into San Miguel is stuck in a horrible position; one that has torn them apart. When the stranger gets a chance to fix the situation and make it right, he does. Not only that, he does it at great personal cost.
There’s a lot to love about A Fistful of Dollars. Ennio Morricone’s music is fitting and conveys the barren atmosphere of the film. Clint Eastwood is wonderful here. Dialogue is minimal, but there’s never any question about where he stands. The whole film is dubbed (apparently a peculiarity of Italian film) and some quite obviously, but once I got past the surprise of it, it really didn’t bother me. The violence is pretty rough, in a bloodless 1960s way, but it was fitting to the film. Best of all, the film had a sense of humor. I always appreciate that in a non-comedy.
One final thing that I noticed on my last pass through A Fistful of Dollars. Leone makes a point of having someone other than the man with no name stand up for the people of the town. Twice, this other person, whose identity I won’t spoil, stands next to the stranger, putting himself at risk. And when the stranger leaves San Miguel, it’s clear that there’s a new sheriff in town.
