Paixões e Duelo

The only weak point of the casting is Romy Schneider who is slightly over-acting. Beautiful B&W camera work and music. Directing work is directly influenced by Robert Bresson (LES DAMES DU BOIS DE BOULOGNE ; UN CONDAMNE A MORT S'EST ECHAPPÉ) & Louis Malle (ASCENSEUR POUR L'ÉCHAFAUD ; LE FEU FOLLET) : distant, "fire under the ice" style, sharp, precise, contained. The story is quite intelligent (an right-wing anti-communist idealist militant betrayed by his chief after a political assassination attempt + love story in which Romy Schneider is torn apart between him and his left-wing childhood friend : they will "fight in the island" to death, using Walther P-38 pistols) and time treatment managed by the editing work is superior art. One of the best movies made in France by the 1960's but it is necessary, when screening it, to not miss one sequence, even a short one, in order to be able to enjoy the subtle atmosphere construction. To be fully understood, this movie requires you to be aware of the political situation of France at that time.

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!!!

Resume:

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

The long goodbye that we are taking from Jean-Louis Trintignant gave us the opportunity to see some of his most famous films but also a few lesser known ones. The latter category includes 'Le Combat dans l'île', the feature film debut of Alain Cavalier, today a somewhat forgotten film director who has several very interesting films in his filmography, including this one. Cavalier had been the assistant of Louis Malle, who even appears on some posters as the film's 'supervisor'. It is difficult to guess today what his direct influence was, but 'Le Combat dans l'île' can also be seen as an episode in the evolution of the New Wave film-makers. Trintignant plays a very different role here than the one of the positive lover who would become a favorite typology in his successful films a few years later. The rich kid who becomes a terrorist, the jealous and possessive husband who resorts to violence when he suspects that he has been betrayed, the angelic figure with the magnetism we know diverted in evil directions - this is a different but remarkable role in my opinion. But it is not at all the only reason why this film, made 60 years ago, still manages to captivate the attention of viewers.

'Le Combat dans l'île' brings to the screen an interesting combination of various genres. The relationship between the dandy who became a terrorist and his beautiful wife who abandoned her career as a theater actress in favor of a routine marriage contains an existentialist spleen also present in the films of the New Wave or Antonioni. The counterpoint is provided by the political thriller plot filmed in film noir style, in black and white, at a time in the history of cinema when the costs and percentages of the distribution between color and black and white were approximately equal, thus the choice was mainly aesthetic. Pierre Lhomme's excellent cinematography creates a much more expressive visual atmosphere than what off-screen voice can achieve. This is, by the way, one of the few tools in the arsenal of the New Wave that I don't really like, and I think watching the movie without the commentary could be an interesting exercise. Not much would be lost in my opinion.

'Le Combat dans l'île' is also a film that relies on its wonderful actors. For Romy Schneider and Jean-Louis Trintignant that was the first close collaboration between two stars (and 'sex symbols') that will make together three more films in the next 18 years. As this is also a love triangle story, the third side is represented by Henri Serre, whose personality on the screen almost eclipses the two stars. An interesting detail, the actor also acted in Truffaut's 'Jules et Jim' at that time, probably the pinnacle of his career. 1962 was a year of glory for Henri Serre. The narrative construction and the gradation towards an end that can be considered a reverence for the old good Hollywood adds to the force of attraction of the film. Recommended watching.

'New Wave, 'Neo-Noir', 'political thriller' or 'romantic melodrama'? Whatever label one choses to attach to this film it represents a highly assured directorial debut by Alain Cavalier. By all accounts it was made 'under the supervision' of Louis Malle although how much influence he exerted and to what extent he contributed is impossible to establish. Cavalier's next film, the brilliant 'L'Insoumi', used as a backdrop the Algerian War of Independence. In the film under review this conflict is neither mentioned nor alluded to but the leading character Clement belongs to an extremist right-wing organisation which one assumes is a reference to the OAS that was formed just one year earlier in an attempt to foil Algerian self-determination. After having failed in an attempt to bump off a left-wing politician Clement realises he has been betrayed and is nominated by other members of his group to track the traitor to South America and kill him. His wife Anne, with whom he has a volatile and rather violent relationship, tells him that if he goes she never wishes to see him again. In his absence she falls in love with and is pregnant by Paul, a lifelong friend of Clement. When Clement returns and hears the news he challenges Paul to a duel........ This was a good phase for Henri Serre who plays Paul as 'Jules et Jim' was released the previous year. He had a minor role in Malle's 'Le Feu Follet' the following year but it is hard to find any film thereafter as effective which is a pity. Jean-Louis Trintignant, one of France's greatest living actors, brings his own air of mystery and unpredictability to the part of Clement. It is not too fanciful I am sure to connect this role with that of the fascist Marcello in Bertolucci's 'Il Conformista' eight years later. The film really belongs to Romy Schneider as Anne. At first she appears to be the passive wife and little more than the obligatory 'love interest' but her character develops strongly and becomes the driving force. Her qualities as an actress are manifold and of course the camera absolutely adores her. The next few years provided nothing comparable but her career was revitalised by 'Les Choses de ma Vie' for Claude Sautet. 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'.