Le petit soldat (1963)

Director:

Jean-Luc Godard

Writer:

Jean-Luc Godard (writer)

Release Date:

25 January 1963 (France)

Genre:

War | Drama

Plot:

During the Algerian war for independence from France, a young Frenchman living in Geneva who belongs...

Plot Keywords:

Terrorism | Spy | Assassination | Political | Betrayal

Cast

Michel Subor	...	Bruno Forestier
Anna Karina	...	Veronica Dreyer
Henri-Jacques Huet	...	Jacques
Paul Beauvais	...	Paul
László Szabó	...	Laszlo

Also Known As:

The Little Soldier

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | France:U (re-release) | France:X | West Germany:16 | Brazil:14

Filming Locations:

Geneva, Canton de Genève, Switzerland

Company:

Les Productions Georges de Beauregard

Trivia:

The film was actually completed in 1960, and was Jean-Luc Godard's second film after À bout de souffle (1960). It was shelved for three years by the French censors.

Quotes:

Bruno Forestier: Photography is truth...and cinema is truth 24 times a second.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Pierrot le fou (1965)

Polarizing, even for Godard.

Having thoroughly enjoyed Breathless as a boundless, energy-filled work of cinematic art, I was looking forward to Jean-Luc Godard's next work about a hit-man in the midst of the Algerian War questioning his beliefs. It ended and I was rather awestruck at how much it felt that Godard tried to keep the audience from being interested in the story. Sometimes, it feels as if there isn't one. We follow Bruno the hit-man as he wonders whether or not he should perform this next target, and then gets involved with Veronica, a beautiful foreigner who turns out to be something she is not. What I essentially took from this was that Godard was continuing his creative vein in which he attempted to go even farther than Breathless, which may have been too far as the story is kind of jagged around the edges and uneven. The best thing about it is Anna Karina, who as Veronica brings a beauty and mysterious presence lacking everywhere else. Indeed, she would go on to marry Godard and work in 7 other films with him. Those would be great accomplishments, but here it is just about getting the feet wet.