Review of Lacombe, Lucien (1974) by Jean-Anne G — 29 Apr 2008

I just trashed Les Amants, which is also by Malle. But Lacombe Lucien, based on a true case, is a TV Movie at its best. A young French provinical youth is rejected by the French Resistance, and so joins up with the local Nazi collaborators instead. He is taken under their wing and becomes a kind of golden boy, but also faces the consequences of their brutal politics in an almost Faustian way.

Lacombe Lucien is filmed with great restraint and close obversation of character and locality by Malle, hence my calling it a TV movie of the highest order, as they tend to be good on these things. Perhaps the best sign of its understated power is that Malle was allegedly villified by many French back in the 1970's, who preferred not to think of their collaborators with such honesty and clarity.