Les Carabiniers (1963)

During a war in an imaginary country, unscrupulous soldiers recruit poor farmers with promises of an easy and happy life. Two of these farmers write to their wives of their exploits.

Director:

Jean-Luc Godard

Writers:

Beniamino Joppolo (play), Jean-Luc Godard (adaptation)

Stars:

Patrice Moullet, Marino Masé, Geneviève Galéa

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Marino Masé	...	Ulysses (as Marino Mase)
Patrice Moullet	...	Michel-Ange (as Albert Juross)
Geneviève Galéa	...	Venus
Catherine Ribeiro	...	Cleopatre
Barbet Schroeder	...	Car salesman
Jean-Louis Comolli	...	Soldier with fish
Gérard Poirot	...	Carabinier #1
Jean Brassat	...	Carabinier #2
Alvaro Gheri	...	Carabinier #3
Odile Geoffroy	...	Young Communist girl

Storyline

During a war, the poor and ignorant brothers Ulysses and Michel-Ange are lured and recruited by two soldiers that promise wealth to them in the name of their King. The greedy wife of Ulysses Cleopatre and her daughter Venus ask them to enlist to pursue fortune. They travel to Italy and become unscrupulous criminals of war. When Ulysses is wounded in one eye, he returns home with Michel-Ange and a small bag full of postcards of famous locations and the promise that they would be entitled of the properties in the end of the war. However, when the King signs the peace treaty with their enemy, they find that the agreement was actually surrender and they have a prize to pay for their actions.

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Plot Keywords:

nouvelle vague | french new wave | cult film | cynicism | sardonic | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | War

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Did You Know?

Quotes

Narrator: There is no victory, only flags and fallen men.

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Connections

Edited into Prières pour Refusniks (2004)

User Reviews

don't expect breathless the sequel

throughout his work in the early to mid-sixties, jean luc godard rode the nouvelle vague by employing and twisting the classic features of a specific film genre. examples of this are his sci-fi (alphaville), and his beloved gangster film (breathless).

when examining les carabiniers, his take on the war movie, one must see godard's purpose in two parts; one, as an anti-war movie, and two, as an anti-war-movie movie.

that is, in addition to the visual social commentary which displays the standard horrific shots of dismemberment and destruction, godard uses the structural components of his film as a whole to mock films along the lines of 'private ryan'.

this means that he refuses to use the concept of war as something that will prove to provide the viewer with any degree of vicarious pleasure, whether that pleasure be derived from identification with a noble lead (which is surely why he has ulysses and michelangelo be such jackasses), beautiful glimmering visuals, (hence the low-caliber film stock), or enjoyable montage and pacing (akin to the conclusive lengthy postcard recounting).

to end this brief rebuff to those who compare this film to tomb raider, i will quote critic david steritt, who states that in les carabiniers, godard refuses to turn aggression into commodification.

Details

Country:

France Italy

Language:

French

Release Date:

27 September 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

Les Carabiniers

Filming Locations:

Rungis, Val-de-Marne, France

Box Office

Budget:

$140,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cocinor, Les Films Marceau, Rome Paris Films

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1