10/10
Moral ambiguities abound
22 June 2007
Warning: Spoilers
I think you could read history books about what it was like to live in southwestern France in 1944 and never come to as complete an understanding as you get from this film. It takes a look at French collaboration with the Nazis and concentrates on how a young farm boy, Lucien Lacombe, ends up collaborating with the Gestapo. Through Lucien's experiences we come to understand the intense moral complexities of the time. I am sure that this tale opened some old sores for a lot of people.

It's hard to pigeonhole Lucien. In the early going we see that he takes pleasure in killing animals - birds for fun and rabbits for fun and food - but he is also shown to display much tenderness for a horse that has died. These paradoxical qualities manifest later in more significant ways.

When Lucien finds himself stuck mopping floors and emptying bedpans in a local hospital he feels the need to escape that dead-end. First he tries to join the French Resistance and is rejected because he is too young (or perhaps because he is not thought clever enough). Then, due to a random set of circumstances, he winds up being taken into a hotel that is home base for a large group of collaborators. They recognize his potential value and get him drunk and plumb him for knowledge about the Resistance. Feeling some importance at being paid some attention and being attracted to the upscale surroundings, Lucien drifts into the fold of the collaborators. Depressingly Lucien falls in with the collaborators more out of circumstance than political commitment - he is simply enticed by being given some authority (sometimes exercised brutally) and comfortable surroundings. The most disturbing thing about Lucien is that, although he has some charm, where passion or thoughtfulness should reside there appears to be nothing. He never seems to weigh the morality or consequences of his acts.

To complicate matters Lucien is taken by the collaborators to the Jewish tailor Albert Horn (Holger Löwenadler in a great performance) in order to get him out of his peasant's clothes and into something more befitting one who works for the Gestapo. When Lucien sees Horn's daughter, France, he is immediately taken with her. This is where things get really interesting. Independently of any moral or political considerations the movie offers us some great character studies, not only of Lucien, but also of Albert and France. Lucien uses his authority to intrude into the Horns' lives and it is not long before France recognizes some of Lucien's charm. There is palpable tension among the three, but also attraction - the interplay is fascinating. Each has something to offer the others and they all use their bargaining powers with each other. At one point Albert says to Lucien, "It's very strange. Somehow I can't bring myself to completely despise you," and Lucien says he considers Albert a friend. Albert, who hates the German occupation and the fact that Lucien is taking up with his daughter (has an actor ever more poignantly projected such abject sadness as Löwenadler does in several scenes?), sees Lucien as providing a possible escape to Spain and also uses Lucien's authority to confront his landlord when it is convenient for him to do so. In spite of being afraid of Lucien, France is attracted to him and is not immune to the excitements he can offer.

It is no accident that Albert's daughter's name is "France." It is by way of Lucien's love of this woman that a more mature personality emerges in the final scenes.

The most dispiriting message is how drab the whole business of collaboration was. You get the feeling that many of the collaborators were rather ambivalent about their choice, or, even worse, that they had not thought enough about things to have made a choice at all. In one telling scene a woman functionary, whose job it was to open letters from informants, complains about her having broken a fingernail while reading through the mail. You get the feeling that in peacetime these collaborators would be ordinary people in ordinary jobs. Wartime forces people into making choices - if not active choices, then passive. It was hard to resist the little perks of collaboration - even Lucien's mother had few qualms about taking money from her son, knowing where it came from.

While the story is absorbing, one has to be impressed with Malle's artistry in its telling and his choice of actors. I think I have never seen more effective use of close-ups to capture emotion. Malle also uses background images and light and shadow to augment the impact of many scenes. This is a master practicing his art.

There are a couple of bothersome things. The Django Reinhardt track used as background music for the opening credits I thought a little odd. It does not set the appropriate mood for what is to come, enjoyable as it is. And Albert's abrupt personality change toward the end is puzzling - he goes from being cautious (even referring to himself as "fragile") to boldly entering the den of the collaborators, wanting to talk with Lucien. His presence there is like waving a red flag in front of a bull.

Minor quibbles aside, in this movie you have a history lesson, a captivating story, fine performances, first-rate cinematography, intense character studies, and the examination of complex moral issues. I would hope that that would be enough to draw you in.
16 out of 17 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Recently Viewed