Gli amanti dell'isola

In a France frightened by the rise of the far right a couple of weeks ago ,"le combat dans l'ile" seen today has a contemporary feel.The hero,Clément,played with talent by a deadpan Jean-Louis Trintignant,is a rich young man,who severs all links with his family ,except his wife Anne (Romy Schneider)and becomes part of an extremist group,which recalls the O.A.S..Their short-sighted philosophy considers that Occident is in jeopardy because of the socialists and the commies and they multiply the assassination attempts.Betrayed by his instructor,Serge takes refuge in his old friend Paul's house (Henri Serre),a socialist and a pacifist.

Shot in black and white ,with beautiful forest landscapes,this is an overlooked movie.Overshadowed by the new wave movies that were released by the dozen at the time,it could not appeal to the "conventional" audience either.Its slow pace,its rather risqué subject may have repelled most of the people.But it's about time to restore it to public favor.The story may be a fight between two men for a woman;but it is also the clash between two ideologies.

It proves that Romy Schneider was a great actress well before her heyday in the seventies:here,she definitively relinquishes her former insipid roles,the likes of Sissi to a modern woman.Henri Serre,who was Jim in Truffaut's "jules and Jim" gives a heartfelt and sensitive performance.Too bad he fell into oblivion soon after it.

Alain Cavalier started strongly with "le combat dans l'île" ,continued in the same vein with "l'insoumis" (1964)(starring Alain Delon and Léa Massari),but was disappointing afterward.Only "un étrange voyage" (1980) and "le plein de super"(1975)

are interesting.But "Therèse" redeemed him !

As Cavalier's debut not despicable picture mixing political issues and dramatic tragic drama, in a slow pace by the way, the story should be concise, offer more practicality instead some useful boring sequences, though don't expect see an eloquent Romy Schneider, she plays Anne a disturbed girl, going to nowhere, Trintignant plays Clement a rich son of great French industrialist who makes part of a right-wind terrorist cell, cover up by Hunting private club leading by a veteran terrorist Serge (Pierre Asso) they target are left-wing politicians and reds, they first target is a famous politician that end up in a flop, Clement is betrayed by Serge, meanwhile he and Anne hidden at Paul's house, (Henri Serre) actually a blood brothers when they were teenagers, Clement decides chase Serge to kill him, Anne stays there for a while, although both in absolute aloneness will getting closing each other, Clement finds Serge in a faraway Argentina, got his revenge and get back, now faces the unexpected truth, Anne is pregnancy of Paul, spurned Clement demands a duel at Island at river Senne, according Clement Paul broken the pact made on their childhood, dispersive the picture seems lost the central point often, overall a decent presentation!!!

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First watch: 2020 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.25

When the children of rich parents make a revolution: Jean-Louis Trintignant and Henri Serre fight for Romy Schneider

Alain Cavalier made a strangely impressive film at the beginning of the 1960s. Anne (GOLDEN GLOBE candidate Romy Schneider) and Clement (FELIX prize winner Jean-Louis Trintignant) are young married, she is a former actress and he is the son of a rich company owner. But Clement doesn't want to follow in Dad's footsteps, preferring to join Serge's (Pierre Asso) right-wing extremist group. Clement will soon carry out his first assassination attempt on an overly left-wing trade union leader. The shot is successful, but Serge has badly betrayed him. Together with Anne, Clement stays with a friend from the Algerian war. This Paul (Henri Serre, known from "Jules and Jim") is in many ways the exact opposite of Clement: newly widowed, owner of a small printing company that trains three apprentices. As Clement chases after the fugitive Serge to South America to finally judge him, Anne and Paul grow closer and closer. When Clement returns after Serge's execution has been completed, only one last confrontation with his rival Paul remains: the fight on the island...

As if Oscar nominee Jean Paul Rappeneau ("Cyrano de Bergerac" and "The Hussar on the Roof" as director) was already anticipating the contrasts of the 1968 era in his script, the conflict between love of peace and radical resistance is fought out here. Of course it's also about Romy, but the argument is much deeper. Both men are familiar with weapons through their service in Algeria, both are dependent on a female hand in the household, so they are still very much caught up in the traditional life of a man. But they made different decisions based on this initial situation. And that makes this film - despite an annoying narrator's voice - still an interesting contemporary document. For Romy Schneider, the film was the breakthrough in French cinema, even though it flopped at the box office. But a film with her can't be bad at all. One of the members of the right-wing terrorist group is played by director Jean Pierre Melville ("Le Samourai").

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. There is good black-and-white photography by Pierre Lhomme, especially the location scenes.

****** Le combat dans l'ile (8/17/62) Alain Cavalier ~ Romy Schneider, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Henri Serre, Pierre Asso

Behind the political message, a film defined by cinematography and admirable acting of Henri Serre, Romy Schneider and Jean Louis Trintignian. And, sure, the mark of Louis Malle.

A film about nuances of love and great portrait of a woman self definition. A film about nuances of revenge, to, about friendship and about justice.

Romy Scheider just shining under camera eye and the fight scenes on the isle are just impressive detail by detail.

The basic gift - the feeling after its end , than it represents a large mirror.