Le Petit Soldat
Encyclopedia
The Little Soldier is a 1960 French film, written and directed by French
filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard
, but not released until 1963. It was Godard's first film with Anna Karina
, who starred as Véronica Dreyer alongside Michel Subor
(as Bruno Forestier).
to escape the enlistment in France. Working for French intelligence, he is ordered to kill Palivoda, who is pro-FLN
(National Liberation Front of Algeria), to prove he is not a double agent
. Refusal and hesitation keep him from carrying out the assassination.
Meanwhile, he meets and falls in love with Véronica Dreyer, who helped the FLN. Bruno plans to leave with her for Brazil
, but is captured and tortured by Algerian revolutionaries.
He escapes, and agrees to kill Palivoda for the French in exchange for passage to Brazil for himself and Veronica. However, the French discover Veronica's ties to the FLN, and torture her to death.
of the use of torture
by both sides are the main themes of the movie. This led to the film being banned for three years in France.
This movie shows a typical theme of Jean-Luc Godard, developed in his later works: interrogation about the nature of cinema (Bruno Forestier in the movie: "La photographie, c'est la vérité, et le cinéma, c'est vingt-quatre fois la vérité par seconde" - "Photography is truth, and cinema is truth 24 times per second") and the image (the photo-shoot of Véronica).
until January 1963, because of the presence of torture scenes. This was Godard's second feature film (after À bout de souffle) but was released as his fourth movie. This is the first of Jean-Luc Godard's movies starring Anna Karina, who became his wife soon after the filming. She would go on to become the quintessential Godard actress.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard is a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter and film critic. He is often identified with the 1960s French film movement, French Nouvelle Vague, or "New Wave"....
, but not released until 1963. It was Godard's first film with Anna Karina
Anna Karina
Anna Karina is a Danish film actress, director, and screenwriter who has spent most of her working life in France. Karina is known as a muse of the director, Jean-Luc Godard, one of the pioneers of the French New Wave...
, who starred as Véronica Dreyer alongside Michel Subor
Michel Subor
Michel Subor is a French actor who gained fame playing the lover of Brigitte Bardot's character in La Bride sur le Cou .In Hollywood Subor starred in Clive Donner's What's New, Pussycat? and in Alfred Hitchcock's Topaz...
(as Bruno Forestier).
Plot
During the Algerian War, Bruno Forestier lives in GenevaGeneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
to escape the enlistment in France. Working for French intelligence, he is ordered to kill Palivoda, who is pro-FLN
National Liberation Front (Algeria)
The National Liberation Front is a socialist political party in Algeria. It was set up on November 1, 1954 as a merger of other smaller groups, to obtain independence for Algeria from France.- Anticolonial struggle :...
(National Liberation Front of Algeria), to prove he is not a double agent
Double agent
A double agent, commonly abbreviated referral of double secret agent, is a counterintelligence term used to designate an employee of a secret service or organization, whose primary aim is to spy on the target organization, but who in fact is a member of that same target organization oneself. They...
. Refusal and hesitation keep him from carrying out the assassination.
Meanwhile, he meets and falls in love with Véronica Dreyer, who helped the FLN. Bruno plans to leave with her for Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, but is captured and tortured by Algerian revolutionaries.
He escapes, and agrees to kill Palivoda for the French in exchange for passage to Brazil for himself and Veronica. However, the French discover Veronica's ties to the FLN, and torture her to death.
Themes
The situation in Algeria and the denunciationDenunciation
Denunciation or abrogation refers to the announcement of a treaty's termination. Some treaties contain a termination clause that specifies that the treaty will terminate if a certain number of nations denounce the treaty...
of the use of torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
by both sides are the main themes of the movie. This led to the film being banned for three years in France.
This movie shows a typical theme of Jean-Luc Godard, developed in his later works: interrogation about the nature of cinema (Bruno Forestier in the movie: "La photographie, c'est la vérité, et le cinéma, c'est vingt-quatre fois la vérité par seconde" - "Photography is truth, and cinema is truth 24 times per second") and the image (the photo-shoot of Véronica).
Release
The film was banned in FranceCensorship in France
France has a long history of governmental censorship, particularly in the 16th to 18th centuries, but today freedom of press is guaranteed by the French Constitution and instances of governmental censorship are relatively limited and isolated....
until January 1963, because of the presence of torture scenes. This was Godard's second feature film (after À bout de souffle) but was released as his fourth movie. This is the first of Jean-Luc Godard's movies starring Anna Karina, who became his wife soon after the filming. She would go on to become the quintessential Godard actress.