The Unvanquished AKA Have I the Right to Kill?
(L’insoumis)
Directed by Alain Cavalier.
With Alain Delon, Lea Massari, Georges Géret.
France/Italy, 1964, DCP, black & white, 103 min.
French with English subtitles.
DCP source: Warner Bros.
With Alain Delon, Lea Massari, Georges Géret.
France/Italy, 1964, DCP, black & white, 103 min.
French with English subtitles.
DCP source: Warner Bros.
Alain Delon is impressive in his magnetism and fragility as a soldier involved in an extreme right-wing militia just before the end of the Algerian War. He participates in the kidnapping of a French lawyer; he then rescues her, and they run away together. From Algiers to the Swiss countryside, the flight of this couple that everything opposes is of great plastic beauty. Cavalier is explicitly inspired by the masterpieces of American film noir, but invents a very original style of directing, to which impressive supporting actors contribute, notably Maurice Garrel. Inspired by real events, the film remained banned for almost half a century.