elvircorhodzic LE PETIT SOLDAT is a crime drama which has a war background. Godard's style is imbued with an uncomfortable political theme.During the Algerian War, Bruno, an army deserter, lives in Geneva. He is caught in a dirty game between two secret service. Meanwhile, he meets and falls in love with Veronica, who is close to one of that secret services. Bruno must make a fateful decision, while both sides carry out inhuman pressures on him...The sensitive subjects had a powerful impact on a realistic image of the film. Godard has, perhaps, made a small mistake with a frequent politicization. He moves away, in those moments, from his distinctive style. However, he has made, through the main protagonist, an intriguing moral confusion from which there is no escape.The direction and pace are very good, while the characterization should be better. The reasons and emotions definitely missing in this story, which boils down to vague conversations about politics and love. Therefore, very serious situations get a frivolous tone in this film.Michel Subor as Bruno Forestier is a kind of hero who is not sure of herself. Each of his decision encourages moral and intellectual issues. However, all fades and becomes part of the final deadly routine. Anna Karina as Veronica Dreyer is a girl who runs away from issues and do not wants to hear answers. What can I say, this is Godard, master of style.

gavin6942 During the Algerian war for independence from France, a young Frenchman living in Geneva who belongs to a right-wing terrorist group and a young woman who belongs to a left-wing terrorist group meet and fall in love. Complications ensue when the man is suspected by the members of his terrorist group of being a double agent.The situation in Algeria and the denunciation 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.I love how huge the Algeria-France situation looms in French cinema. Do most Americans know that France had a war going on there? Probably not. And yet, it was something the movie directors and artists were very conscious of. I suspect that French film was stronger on the Algerian issue than American films were on Vietnam, at least initially.

Emil Bakkum Most people try to select films that more or less fit into their framework of comprehension. Films that refuse to take a stance leave the audience bewildered, and are akin to swindle. For if a director is without opinion, s/he has no moral right to seize our time. Films in the category Nouvelle Vague are always in danger to evoke feelings of dissatisfaction, and Le Petit Soldat is no exception. In particular if you don't know the historical background, the film makes probably no sense. It is not stated, but an essential part of the film seems to be the colonial aspiration of France. After the disastrous defeats of the Napoleons the global ambitions reappeared during the last decades of the nineteenth century. Germany had become the dominating power in Europe (just like today) and therefore France expanded in Indo-China and North-Africa. After WWII this was no longer sustainable. The decolonization of Algeria was much more painful than the loss of Vietnam. There was even an uprise of French colonels in Algeria, which had to be soothed by general de Gaulle. The liberation war was cruel and bloody. The film shows the struggle abroad, in Switserland, between the French secret service and Arab (Amazigh?) freedom fighters. Indeed this is an intriguing and promising theme, and the story rightly addresses the mutual kidnapping, torture and murder. It is striking that neither the French agents or the freedom fighters are motivated by credible and conscientious aims. The freedom fighters derive their wisdom from propaganda booklets of Lenin. The French agents seem to be hirelings, who just want to make a living. Consequently there appears to be no distinction between good and bad. It is simply a dirty business. The main character Bruno works for the French secret service, but is devoid of honorable goals. This is not due to ignorance, since in his monologues he calls it a deliberate personal choice. Everybody has ideals, he says, and therefore they are boring and banal. Obvously the viewer is unable to feel empathy with Bruno. Bruno claims to fall in love with Veronica, a Russian woman, who supports the FLN (freedom fighters). He wants to flee with her to Brasil, and asks his colleagues to supply passes and tickets. In exchange for these items he liquidates a well-known supporter of the FLN. Surprisingly his girl-friend makes no objections to this criminal bargain. The French secret service betrays them, and tortures Veronica to death in order to obtain information about the FLN. Afterwards Bruno is not resentful, and in fact enjoys his survival. Evidently this film does not provide arguments to judge the French-Algerian war. There are two explanations for this: (1) Godards stance is yellow, because he did not dare to offend his countrymen, or (2) Godart uses the war only as a backdrop for a philosophical argument. In the second alternative Godard may address the existentialism of Sartre, which especially in France became increasingly popular among its intelligentsia. The long monologues and the self-centered attitude of Bruna favor this possibility. Since I don't like existentialism, this may explain my aversion from the film. In this other Godard film "Tout va bien" the self-centered personalities and the lack of social involvement is also present, but in a less irritating manner. A Dutch film in this style is "De minder gelukkige terugkeer van Joszef Katus naar het land van Rembrandt". If like me you prefer films using social realism, consider seeing my other reviews.

zetes And it's simply criminal that it is so unavailable. Turner Classic Movies has the rights to play it and has twice in 2001, but the film has never been available on video, at least not in the US. Le petit soldat can be very hard to follow at times, and it certainly drags a bit nearer the start, but once it gets going, it escalates into a very powerful dramatic experience. Michel Subor and Anna Karina, in her first collaboration with her soon-to-be husband Godard, are excellent as two people who work for opposite causes who meet and fall in love. The film is very moody, and often very suspenseful. The music, by Maurice Leroux, is a simple but effective piano score, played in a tragic key. The romance is not beautiful, but is also played for tragedy. Jean-Luc Godard is a name that most film lovers will know. Most of them will have seen or will someday see Breathless (A bout de souffle), his first and most famous film. Many others will find other films like Contempt, Alphaville, Pierrot le fou, Vivre sa vie (My Life to Live), and Weekend. But this great auteur, more than almost any other, has so many great forgotten works that it particularly depresses me. Le petit soldat is one of the best (I give it a 9/10). Also valuable and underseen are Une femme est une femme, Les carabiniers, Bande a part (Band of Outsiders), First Name: Carmen, Hail Mary, and his segment from Aria, to name just the ones I have seen. There are many, many more after that.