Overview: Clement (Jean-Louis Trintignant, Il sorpasso) is a wealthy son of an industrialist who lives a secret life as a right-wing terrorist. Double-crossed following an assassination attempt he flees to the countryside with his wife, Anne (Romy Schneider, La piscine) where they stay with his childhood friend, Paul (Henri Serre, Jules et Jim).

Clement plots his revenge but Anne falls for Paul and a love triangle is just one of many complications in this multi-layered discovery from the French New Wave. With the support of producer Louis Malle, Alain Cavalier (Fill ’Er Up with Super) directed his debut, a noirish drama beautifully shot by cinematographer Pierre Lhomme (Army of Shadows).

While echoing the political turmoil of the 1960s, the film probes bourgeois values and the relationship between sex and violence, acting as a precursor to The Conformist and demonstrating the influence of Chabrol.

Blu-ray Verdict: As a winter of discontent ends in Paris, militaristic Jean-Louis Trintignant (as Clement Lesser) plans to assassinate a unionist politician. When his clandestine hunting club fails to achieve success, Mr. Trintignant must hide from authorities.

He and alluring wife Romy Schneider (as Anne) take refuge with Trintignant’s childhood chum Henri Serre (as Paul). Trintignant leaves to square things with former cohort Pierre Asso (as Serge) while Ms. Schneider resumes her (stage) acting career. Absent her husband, Schneider falls into Mr. Serre’s bed. Then, Trintignant returns and wants to get combative.

This was the first feature from director Alain Cavalier, here assisted by Louis Malle. The leading men are meant to represent two extreme sides of the political aisle - commonly called right-wing (tending toward fascism in the extreme) and left-wing (tending toward communism in the extreme).

Unfortunately, the film does not relay much of the men’s friendship; we do not care that they become rivals. Most interesting is the relationship between Trintignant and Schneider, which may border (at least) on sadomasochism. However, there is good black-and-white photography by Pierre Lhomme, especially the location scenes.

In conclusion, this still remains an excellent script by Cavalier and Jean-Paul Rappeneau with gorgeous, grainy cinematography by the masterful Pierre L’Homme. Cavalier maintains a lento rhythm throughout, which allows the characters to breathe whilst never allowing the momentum to slacken. If you liked this, you will love L’Insoumi.

BONUS MATERIALS:
2K Restoration from the original camera negative
Original uncompressed French mono PCM audio
Interview with Alain Cavalier from French television show Cinema page (1962, 5 mins)
Faire la mort: A commentary featurette by Cavalier on photos from the Cinémathèque française (2011, 5 mins)
Interview with star Jean-Louis Trintignant from the Belgian television show Cinescope (1983, 7 mins)
The Succulence of Fruit: An interview with French critic Philippe Roger who provides an analysis of the film and Cavalier’s work (2020, 37 mins)
Un américain - Cavalier’s first short film about a sculptor who comes to Paris (1958, 17 mins)
France 1961 - a short film made by Cavalier on the occasion of Zeitgeist’s DVD release of the film (2010, 13 mins)
Behind-the-scenes photos including images from the archive of Louis Malle
Trailer
Optional English subtitles
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork
Limited edition booklet featuring new writing on the film by critic Ben Sachs and scholar and author of Late-Colonial French Cinema, Mani Sharpe

www.radiancefilms.co.uk