Der kleine Soldat (1963)

Der kleine Soldat: Directed by Jean-Luc Godard. With Michel Subor, Anna Karina, Henri-Jacques Huet, Paul Beauvais. During the Algerian War, a man and woman from opposing sides fall in love with one another.

“In the past couple of weeks, Iu0026#39;ve been on a Godard kick where Iu0026#39;ve seen u0026quot;Alphavilleu0026quot;, u0026quot;My Life to Liveu0026quot; and u0026quot;Breathlessu0026quot;, along with u0026quot;Le Petit Soldat.u0026quot; I donu0026#39;t think that it reflects all that badly on the latter movie to say that itu0026#39;s not really in a league with the first three, all of which are near-masterpieces at the very least.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis was Godardu0026#39;s first feature film made after u0026quot;Breathlessu0026quot;, and you can see him straining to give u0026quot;Le Petit Soldatu0026quot; a different feel – something where the stakes are a little higher, something more engaged with the political realities and real ethics of the world. One might conclude that this concrete engagement with politics isnu0026#39;t really Jean-Lucu0026#39;s cup of tea. Itu0026#39;s telling that the best scene, Brunou0026#39;s long closing monologue at the end of the film, is as involved with art and abstraction as it is with the milieu of the Algerian conflict around which the film centers itself.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe camera-work isnu0026#39;t as radical as some of Godardu0026#39;s other films, and his locations in Geneva and Zurich donu0026#39;t provide him with as much eye candy as his native Paris. Even more so than other early Godard films, it has the feel of a documentary. In this case, the documentary is a combination between a piece of political agitation and a seminar on individual freedom with respect to modern politics.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhile the typical doomed Godardian hero spends most of his or her time in desperate circumstances, they frequently continue living in blithe ignorance of the fate that awaits them, spending their time in bed with one another or in pseudo-philosophical conversation. Bruno, the protagonist of u0026quot;Le Petit Soldatu0026quot;, is different. The sense of desperation within him is palpable; Bruno is increasingly hemmed in by competing French and Algerian ideologies that make no sense to him, but nevertheless exercise more and more control over his freedom as the movie progresses.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe much-discussed torture scene is surprisingly long and effective. Torture, while no less in vogue now than it was in the early u0026#39;60s, doesnu0026#39;t get much screen time these days. What Godard does so well is show the banality of the torturers, who go about their work with half-hearted second-hand assertions about what is necessary in times like these.”