Satisfaction Not Guaranteed

When I closed my eyes and thought back to the film Wages of Fear all I could think of was the shot of Luigi (Folco Lulli) lying apparently lifeless on the ground after the explosion of the boulder. He’s lying there so peacefully and finally, it seems as if someone got out of the hell that was their existence. Then he wakes up and the depressing world of Las Piedras continues. Luigi is the only likeable character in the film. Mr. Jo, Bimba, and even Mario openly show their negative sides, their animalistic reactions, and detrimental characteristics that make them cold and unlikable. We never really see any of Luigi’s flaws. This does not mean that he doesn’t have them, but he tries to live past them. This is the same case for his ideas about his situation. He is always smiling, it seems, even when driving a truck full of untamed explosives. The explosion is a climax in the film, or it appears to be one. However, when Luigi survives it’s almost like a slap in the face by the director. More questions are posed and the depressing nature of the film is prolonged. After seeing the end of the film, I had wished that the film ended with that explosion. It was the only thing in the film, in the lives of the characters, and in the life of the community, that was a conclusion. Although it would have been sad for Luigi to die, it would have been a bittersweet but satisfying ending nonetheless to a morbid, gloomy film.